BJP fearful after oppn named alliance INDIA: Assam Congress leader

Guwahati, Sep 6 (IANS) Assam Congress leader Debabrata Saikia on Wednesday claimed that the BJP has become fearful after the 28 opposition parties named their alliance INDIA.

Saikia, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Assam Assembly, told reporters here that "the name of our country is 'Bharat' in Hindi language while it is called India in English".

"As southern India has issues with the use of Hindi, our country is often referred to as India. Even in the northeast, a good portion of people have the same problem and hence India name is thus accepted everywhere.”

The Congress leader further said that “the central government has many schemes -- Make in India, Start up India, Skill India, Khelo India etc."

"My question to them, if the opposition bloc is using the same name, would the BJP leadership change the name of its number of ambitious schemes?”

Saikia's remarks came a day after  Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lashed out at the opposition for criticising the Centre over the 'President of Bharat' G20 invite, saying they should first ask Congress leader Rahul Gandhi why he did not name 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' as 'India Jodo Yatra'.

"In our Constitution it is clearly said India, that means Bharat. The name Bharat has been existing for a long. So, there is no need to give a new name Bharat. Our country was Bharat, it is Bharat and it will always remain Bharat," Sarma asserted.