JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the country is known by three names—Bharat, India, and Hindustan—and people are free to call it what resonates with them.
Responding to RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale’s statement that the country should only be called Bharat, Abdullah said, “We call it Bharat, India, and Hindustan. All three names exist, and people can use whichever they prefer.”
Speaking outside the Assembly, he questioned why terms like ‘Constitution of India’ and ‘Reserve Bank of India’ are used if Bharat is the only name. He pointed out that the Prime Minister’s plane bears both ‘Bharat’ and ‘India’ and noted that institutions like the Indian Air Force and Indian Army continue to use ‘India’. Referring to the famous song ‘Sare Jahan Se Achcha, Hindustan Hamara,’ he said that Hindustan is also widely used.
Reacting to opposition criticism of his remark that the budget was a “love letter” to the people, Abdullah said, “The opposition is meant to oppose, just as we did when we were in opposition. That is how Assemblies and Parliament function.”
He clarified that the budget was not a “love letter” to the BJP but to all voters, including those of the BJP, National Conference, Congress, PDP, and People’s Conference. “It is for the people of Jammu and Kashmir, and I have no hesitation in owning it. I will continue to write this love letter for the next five years,” he said.
