India’s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposal to change the country’s name from India to Bharat as “absurd.”
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress party, expressed his disapproval while in Brussels during his five-day trip to Europe. The controversy arose when the Modi government decided to use the Sanskrit word “Bharat” on dinner invitations for the G20 summit in New Delhi, leading to widespread criticism.
Gandhi views this name change as a diversionary tactic by the government and suggested that it is used to divert attention from issues like Mr. Gautam Adani and chronic capitalism.
He accused Prime Minister Modi of favoring large industrialists and called for an investigation into the billionaire Gautam Adani, who heads the Adani Group, for alleged financial irregularities.
The Adani Group, known for its involvement in seaports and airports across India, recently faced scrutiny for its use of offshore tax havens to influence its share prices.
During his European trip, Rahul Gandhi is meeting with European Union lawmakers, human rights advocates, and members of the Indian diaspora in countries such as Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Norway.
He believes that the government’s actions, including the proposed name change, are driven by panic following the formation of a coalition of more than two dozen parties in July, uniting under the acronym “INDIA” for the upcoming general elections, which are scheduled for next year.