Mumbai, Sep 6 (PTI) Congress leader and Karnataka minister Priyank Kharge on Wednesday said the ongoing India-Bharat naming controversy was intended to deflect attention from real issues facing the country.
“This government came to power saying they’re going to be game changers, but unfortunately they have become name changer,” Kharge told PTI on the sidelines of the Global Fintech Fest being held in the Bandra Kulra Complex (BKC) here.
“Are our fortunes going to change? Is our economy going to improve or more people going to get employed (after name change)?” asked the Karnataka minister, who is son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
The Kharge Junior said the intention behind such a move was “simple”, and alleged this was a ploy “just to divert attention from real issues”.
The name change controversy erupted after invitations for a G20 dinner in New Delhi sent out by Droupadi Murmu, describing her position as ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the customary ‘President of India’, triggered a massive furore on Tuesday. The opposition alleged the Modi government was planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country’s name.
Asked whether the opposition INDIA alliance was giving fodder to the ruling BJP with controversial comments like one made on Sanatan Dharma by Tamil Nadu minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Kharge said everybody has a right to express his or her own opinion.
“Any religion that does not preach equality is not a religion according to me, as simple as that. Why complicate it?” stated the Congress leader Earlier, Kharge, who handles the information technology portfolio in the Congress government, said Karnataka is working towards a possibility where start-ups in the southern state command a 50 per cent revenue share in the overall USD 1 trillion revenue pie for fintechs by 2030.
The state, an IT hub, has constituted a task force with the intention to pursue this ambition, he said.
It is also working on skilling and reskilling, creating centres of excellence (CoEs), building global alliances and offering a more conducive environment for businesses to thrive, Kharge said.
New CoEs in sectors such as health sciences, manufacturing and automotive, and gaming will be opened in the state in the near future, said the IT minister. PTI AA RSY
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