“Party’s or coalition’s name should not be in name of country”: HAM chief Jitan Ram Manjhi

Patna (Bihar) [India]: Hindustan Awam Morcha (HAM) chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday chastised the Opposition by stating that a party’s or coalition’s name should not be in the name of the country.

“A party or coalition’s name should not be similar to that of the country’s name…They’ve named it hoping to attract the voter’s sentiments…PM Modi’s graph is commendable…People outside the country also believe that in 2024, PM Modi will form the govt”, said Manjhi. Notably, the Opposition with 26 parties came up with a name for the alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, announcing that it would be called the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA.

On Tuesday, while addressing the media after the meeting, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Earlier, we were UPA and now all the 26 parties have given a name to the opposition and that is – Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

Everybody has agreed upon this, and the resolution for the name was passed unanimously.”

The development came as top leaders of 26 Opposition parties from across the country met in Bengaluru on Tuesday to discuss a united strategy to take on the ruling NDA alliance at the Centre, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said that there should not be any conflict over the name of the new Opposition alliance ‘INDIA’.

Speaking to the media, Raut said, “Is there not any political party in the name of INDIA? What is ‘Bharatiya Janata Party’? It is ‘Bharat’ only”.

Further, the Shiv Sena leader said, “There should not be any conflict over the name ‘INDIA’. every citizen of the country is ‘India’.”

Following the announcement of the name of the alliance, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Advocate Ashutosh Dubey on Tuesday wrote a letter to the Election Commission of India against the renaming of United Progressive Alliance (UPA) as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) saying that it “appears to be using the name of our nation as a mere tool to gain power.”

In addition to this, BJP leader and former Janata Dal United President RCP Singh launched an attack on the opposition on Wednesday, stating, “The country belongs to 140 crores people. 26-party people call themselves INDIA, what can be a bigger joke than this? It is difficult for them to stay together as there are contradictions”.