Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Medinipur Lok Sabha MP, Dilip Ghosh, on Sunday said India will be renamed Bharat and those opposing it “are free to leave the country”.
Speaking at Kharagpur, the former West Bengal BJP president added: “When our party comes to power in West Bengal, we will remove all statues of foreigners in Kolkata.”
Mr. Ghosh has in the past made several comments not only directed at his political opponents but also against his own party leaders. In May 2022, the BJP national leadership censured Mr. Ghosh for targeting his party leaders.
Mr. Ghosh’s remarks come at a time when the government is using the name ‘Bharat’ at the G-20 events. The Opposition bloc of 26 parties – Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) – had questioned the move.
The Trinamool Congress leadership said the BJP leader is trying to create controversy when there is none. “This is nothing but a panic reaction to the INDIA bloc; the timing of the change of name of the country is important,” Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.
Another party spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen alleged that the BJP was trying to “divert attention from real issues as it was afraid of the Opposition INDIA alliance”.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also asked, “What happened suddenly that the name of the country needs to be changed?”
