However, the Chief Minister has now clarified that the update was an oversight on his part, offering an explanation for the bio change.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently updated his Twitter bio from 'India' to 'Bharat,' sparking curiosity and speculation among netizens. However, the Chief Minister has now come forward with an explanation, stating that the change was an oversight on his part.
Sarma took to Twitter and said, "In my previous bio, I mentioned Assam, INDIA. However, I forgot to update it after my journey from the INDIAN National Congress to the BHARATIYA Janata Party. Now, I have proudly changed my bio to Assam, BHARAT."
The bio update attracted attention, especially since Sarma had previously criticized opposition parties for choosing 'INDIA' as the acronym for their coalition, emphasizing that the country's name should be 'Bharat' to break free from colonial legacies.
Last week, the Chief Minister voiced his views, saying, "Our civilizational conflict is pivoted around India and Bharat. The British named our country India. We must strive to free ourselves from colonial legacies," adding that the fight should be for 'Bharat,' as our forefathers had fought for it.
Critics were quick to point out the apparent irony, as Sarma himself had his Twitter bio set as 'Chief Minister of Assam, India' before the update. Responding to the criticism, he said, "Some friends from the Congress are asking me why I changed my bio. I hope this explanation will satisfy them."
The Twitter bio tussle didn't go unnoticed by Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, who took a jab at Sarma, suggesting he was holding sour grapes. Ramesh brought up Prime Minister Narendra Modi's initiatives such as Skill India, Start-up India, and Digital India, which introduced new names for existing programs. He questioned Sarma's objection to the opposition's choice of 'INDIA' as an acronym for their alliance while the Prime Minister himself had used 'Vote India' in one of his appeals to voters, according to Hindustan Times.