Students form the Indian map in tricolour. Representative photo.
Credit: X/@nsitharamanoffc
New Delhi: Former Union minister and senior BJP leader Satyapal Singh on Monday demanded in the Lok Sabha that the name of the country should be changed to Bharat.
Participating in a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address, Singh said the first paragraph of the Constitution has a mention – 'India that is Bharat'.
"The use of 'India' should end. The name of this country is Bharat, which is a powerhouse of knowledge. This name (India) should be changed. Such a country, which is the greatest in the world," said Singh, a former IPS officer and Lok Sabha member from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh.
"Even the Gods said we were fortunate to have been born in Bharat. Hence the name of the country should be changed to Bharat," he said, quoting from scriptures.
Singh, who was minister of state for education, said the President's address was a guarantee of the guarantees given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"We will work together to end poverty in the country, will end terrorism and casteism...we will restore India's past glory by making it a self-reliant and developed nation by 2047," the BJP leader said.
He said the building of the Ram temple in Ayodhya was an expression of the faith of crores of devotees and that the prime minister was working towards establishing Ram Rajya in the country.
"We will not rest till Ram Rajya is established. Mahatma Gandhi spoke about establishing Ram Rajya during the freedom struggle. The Prime Minister is following the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Maharshi Dayanand and Deen Dayal Upadhyay, and working towards establishing Ram Rajya in the country," Singh said.
Trinamool Congress member Satabdi Roy sought to punch holes in the government's claims of pulling out 25 crore people from multi-dimensional poverty, contending that the data pertained to Covid years when surveys were not conducted.
She said issues such as unemployment, high inflation, safety and security of girl child, MSP for farmers, Manipur, and the reality of the suffering of train passengers were missing from the President's address.
Roy said BJP members were claiming that Prime Minister Modi had brought Lord Ram back to Ayodhya.
"He is a very powerful person. He can bring god (back to Ayodhya). He has so much power that he can bring back god, but he cannot bring back mere mortals such as Nirav Modi, Mehul Choksi or Vijay Mallya. Can he not bring back black money? These are the questions facing the country," said Roy, who represents Birbhum in the Lok Sabha.
Benny Behanan of Congress said the achievement of 10 years of the Modi government was actually the result of the work done by previous governments.
He said the Union government was blatantly ignoring the Constitution of the country.
"The government is leading the country from diverse religions to a Hindu rashtra as evidenced from the recent Ram Mandir celebrations," Behanan said.
BJP member P P Chaudhary said the President's address touched upon four pillars – youth, women, poor, and farmers – who form the foundation of a developed nation by 2047.
Akali Dal leader and former Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said she was happy that a woman president addressed both Houses of Parliament, a woman finance minister presented the general budget and a woman member of Lok Sabha initiated the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address.
Referring to the President's address, Badal said she was surprised to find that planting of saplings, uploading selfies and installing plaques have become standard for development.
She said suicides by youth have increased as every second youngster is without a job, farmers' suicides were on the rise.
BJP leader Jagadambika Pal and National Conference member Hasnain Masoodi also participated in the debate.