As the India vs Bharat debacle continues, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday explained why he chose to use the word ‘BHARAT’ instead of ‘INDIA’ on his Twitter bio, saying that he “forgot” to update it after his transition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He clarified that he “proudly” changed the bio of his Twitter handle from ‘Assam, INDIA’ to ‘Assam, BHARAT’ as he had forgotten to update it after his journey from the Indian National Congress (INC) to the BJP.
In his tweet, he stressed on the words ‘INDIAN’ and ‘BHARATIYA’, clearly indicating his stance on the fiasco.
“In my previous bio, I mentioned Assam, INDIA . However, I forgot to update it after my journey from the INDIAN National Congress to the BHARATIYA Janata Party. Now, I have proudly changed my bio to Assam, BHARAT,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Some friends from the Congress are asking me why I changed my bio. I hope this explanation will satisfy them,” he added.
Earlier this month, the age-old debate got a fresh lease of life after the 26-party Opposition bloc named their alliance ‘INDIA’ - Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. The Assam chief minister, who doesn’t shy away from stirring controversies, was quick to comment on it.
He rallied with the slogan “BJP for BHARAT” and opined that the “British named our country as India”. He said that we must strive to free ourselves from the colonial legacies. He said that our forefathers fought for Bharat and the BJP will continue to work for Bharat.
He wrote, “Our civilisational conflict is pivoted around India and Bharat.The British named our country as India. We must strive to free ourselves from colonial legacies. Our forefathers fought for Bharat, and we will continue to work for Bharat . BJP for BHARAT”
The chief minister later came up with another tweet where reiterated his stance after the Opposition questioned and countered him. He wrote, “I made one tweet on BHARAT and Congress remembered the huge success of Start Up India, Skill India and Digital India. The Constitutional adoption of the name - India , was borrowed from a Colonial legacy and continues to remain in force like many such legacies. But the civilisational conflict between Bharat and India runs much deeper than a mere choice of names. BHARAT must Win , BHARAT will Win.”
