Stating that there is a plan to destroy India’s pluralistic culture of thousands of years, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday said that India’s social, political and economic cohesion will be destroyed if people fall prey to the plan.
“They are giving catchy words and slogans for this. They are playing a drama by trying to change the name of the country. The BJP, which named its programmes like Make in India, Skill India and Start Up India, is now shocked by the name India. It is going to rename the country as Bharat. We are the ones who had Bharat Jodo,” the Chief Minister said during a felicitation to Congress Rajya Sabha member Syed Naseer Hussein, who was recently included in the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision body of the Congress. He is also the Congress whip in the Upper House.
He said: “The BJP is now attempting to teach us about India. They have no respect for India either. India’s pluralistic culture will be in the safe hands of India.” He said that despite any political conspiracy, Congress will protect pluralistic character of the country, secular and cultural heritage, and the Indian constitution. Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the country can progress on path of development only India preserves its secular and harmonious heritage.
The KPCC president and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that the minorities have heaved a sigh of relief after the Congress government came to power. He said that the BJP government had filed false cases against the minorities that will be discussed with legal experts.
Born in Ballari, Mr. Hussein, who was elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka in March 2018, is the only Kannadiga to get consecutively elected as the Secretary, vice-president and president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union, Delhi. After completing bachelors and masters degrees from University of Mysore, Mr. Hussein completed doctorate from JNU. He has served as the vice-chairman of Child Labour Board and Tobacco Labour Board, and also as a member of Cine Worker’s fund. He was also the chairman of two sub-committees of the Union government, which recommended revisions of various existing schemes and laws to bring labour reforms in the country. Mr. Hussein has been instrumental in coordinating and mobilising Opposition parties inside and outside the Parliament after he was appointed as the coordinator to Congress president M. Mallikarjun Kharge.
