JDU Dismisses Speculation Of Nitish Kumar's Discontent After Opposition Meet, Amid Reports Of Disagreement Over Name 'I-N-D-I-A'

After the meetings of 26 Opposition parties in Bengaluru and 38 NDA allies in Delhi, leaders from various political parties responded to the tensions between the two camps, the chosen name of the Opposition front, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar's dissatisfaction with the alliance's name.

Following a month of discussions aimed at presenting a united front against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the multi-party alliance finally settled on a name — the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Opposition alliance and portrayed the NDA as a "coalition of contributions and strength".

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma argued that the British had named the country 'India' and the fight should be to liberate the nation from its colonial past.

On Wednesday (19 July), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Shiv Sena (UBT), and non-aligned leaders from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Akali Dal also expressed their opinions on the political developments.

Here is a summary of what was said:

Sanjay Raut, leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction, emphasised that "Supporters of Narendra Modi used to say PM Modi is India but he is not India. Every citizen of the country is India. There should not be any conflict over the name 'INDIA'."

Janata Dal (United) party president Lalan Singh dismissed speculation about Nitish Kumar's dissatisfaction, stating that Nitish Kumar, who brought the opposition together, could never be angry.

Singh, who was part of the NDA for five years, questioned why Prime Minister Modi called for a meeting when he had never done so before.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala supported Lalan Singh's statement, emphasising the unity of the opposition parties. Surjewala stated that the BJP's attempts to divide India would not succeed.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha responded to the BJP-led government's actions and said, “Central government failed on every front. No meeting of NDA was called in the last nine years but they called it yesterday. BJP used to say ‘Ek akela sab par bhaari’ but they are not saying this now. Now this election has become NDA vs INDIA and INDIA will win. It is a good name — INDIA. It doesn’t matter as to who proposed it.”

Congress leader Pramod Tiwari took a dig at the BJP and said “The BJP itself has rolled out so many schemes like Make In India, Shining India, and more. They are creating unnecessary controversy around the name INDIA. We have not even started to work together and now only it has created so much fear in the mind of the BJP.”

Mayawati, the leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party, criticised the Congress party for forming alliances with casteist and capitalist parties in order to gain power.

She expressed her belief that these parties do not work for the welfare of the people, and have failed to fulfill their promises to marginalised communities such as Dalits, Muslims, and minorities.

Mayawati explained that this is why the BSP has chosen not to join hands with the opposition.

Bikram Singh Majithia, an Akali leader and former minister, accused the AAP and Congress of being closely connected and working together. He described them as a dangerous combination, with the Congress effectively becoming a faction of the ruling party in Punjab.

Majithia declared that the official opposition in Punjab is no longer functioning as opposition, but has merged with the ruling party.

Tej Pratap Yadav, a leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, criticised the BJP-led central government stating, “They (BJP-led central government) have pushed the country into darkness. That’s why the foundation of grand alliance was laid.”