The BJP has been opposing the name ‘INDIA’ from the start.
New Delhi:
After severely criticising the opposition bloc for naming its alliance INDIA, the BJP has declared today that it will call it by its old name – UPA, sources said. “I.N.D.I.A. is the opposition’s attempt to portray a clean image to the public by associating itself with the name of the country,” the sources said, adding the BJP will continue to expose them, especially the Congress, addressing them with their old name.
The opposition front, after much deliberation, decided to name the newly formed coalition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance or INDIA, at a 26-party meet in Bengaluru on July 18.
The BJP has been opposing the name from the start, claiming the new branding has been done so that it can hide the opposition’s many scams of the past.
They are using the name INDIA only so the “corrupt” image of the UPA can be erased from the public eye, the sources said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently took a swipe at the opposition, saying “they changed their name from UPA to INDIA to hide how you schemed against the poor”. “The name INDIA is not to show their patriotism but with an intention to rob the country,” he added.
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in a press conference today, addressed the opposition bloc as UPA while talking about Manipur. She targetted them for “changing goalposts” over the Manipur crisis.
“Earlier we were UPA and now all the 26 parties have given a name to the opposition and that is – Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA),” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had announced after the two-day meeting.
The opposition said they chose the name because the fight was not between the opposition parties and the BJP, but it was a “fight for the idea of India that was being attacked”.
“That is why this name was chosen. The fight is between NDA and INDIA, Between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and INDIA, between their (the BJP’s) ideology and INDIA. You know what happens when someone stands against India, who wins,” Rahul Gandhi had explained at a press conference.
The Congress had formed the government at the Centre twice under the umbrella of UPA. Sonia Gandhi was the chairperson of UPA 1 and 2, which remained in government from 2004 to 2014.
Several corruption cases have been central to the BJP’s criticism of it since it came to power in 2014.
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