Omar on India-Bharat debate: Let Centre bring issue to Parl if it has the courage

Srinagar, Sep 8 (PTI) Let the Central government bring the issue of changing the name of the country to Bharat in Parliament if it has the courage, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah said here on Friday.

Addressing the buzz that the government might drop India and retain Bharat as the country’s name, Abdullah said it isn’t a simple matter.

“No one can change it. Do they have a two-thirds majority in the Parliament? If they have, let them change it,” the NC vice president told reporters on the sidelines of a party function.

“They will need to change the country’s Constitution. If they have the courage to do so, then let them bring it. We will see who supports them on it,” he added.

Both names, he said, were written in the Constitution and India cannot be removed from the Constitution.

“It is written in the Constitution that India, which is Bharat, is a Union of states. Both names are in it. People call it India, or Bharat or Hindustan… it is their right. If (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi sahib does not want to use the name India, let him not, but he cannot remove it from the Constitution,” Abdullah said.

Asked about the ongoing G20 meeting in New Delhi, Abdullah said other countries have also hosted such meetings and others members will also host it after India’s turn.

“They (heads of G20 member countries) have come, they will see a small corner of Delhi and return. What I have read that about Rs 4200 crore have been spent on Delhi’s makeover for it. At least the citizens of Delhi will benefit from that,” he said.