On Friday, the Delhi High Court requested statements from the Centre, the Election Commission of India (ECI), and 26 opposition parties in response to a petition seeking to outlaw the use of the acronym INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) for opposition alliances.
The petition was filed by one Girish Bhardwaj, who claimed that the respondent political parties “want to take undue advantage of the name of our country for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections next year.” A bench of chief judge Satish Chandra Sharma and justice Sanjeev Narula served notice on the petition.
“This must be heard.” “It requires a hearing,” the bench stated when scheduling a hearing in October.
INDIA is an Opposition alliance formed by the leaders of 26 parties to challenge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Lok Sabha elections of 2024.
In his petition, Bhardwaj argued that this is an attempt to confuse the general public into believing that the future general election in 2024 will be fought between “political parties” or “alliances and our country.”
“That by causing this confusion, the respondent political parties intend to take unfair advantage in the name of our country,” the petition stated.
According to the petition, the opposition parties are also using our national flag as their alliance’s logo, which is a further strategic move to attract and gain the sympathy and votes of innocent citizens, as well as a tool to give a nudge or a spark that may lead to political hatred, which will eventually lead to political violence.
“…the respondent political parties are using the acronym India with malicious intent, which will only act as a factor in diminishing the goodwill of our great nation, i.e., India/Bharat, not only in our country but also on various international platforms,” according to the report.
The petitioner told the court that on July 19, he filed a submission to the ECI requesting that the newly formed coalition be sanctioned for using the acronym INDIA.
It noted that, despite the petitioner’s representation, the ECI had “miserably failed” to take any action or condemn the respondent’s selfish act in any way.
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