Amid 'India' vs 'Bharat' row, Rahul Gandhi stuck with 'Hindustan' throughout his speech in Chhattisgarh

Using the word Hindustan, Gandhi said, "Out of the 90 secretaries who run the government, only three people belong to the backward class and those people control only 5% of Hindustan's budget. Are there only 5% OBCs in Hindustan? The answer can only be found from the caste census."

Bilaspur(Chhattisgarh): Amid the row over 'India' and 'Bharat' as the names of the country, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday used the word 'Hindustan' while referring to the nation throughout his speech in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur.

Addressing the state government's 'Awas Nyay Sammelan' in Parsada (Sakri) village, the Congress leader while speaking in Hindi said, "PM Narendra Modi talks about the OBC category wherever he goes. Congress party had conducted a caste census. How many people are there from every caste in Hindustan, the Hindustan government has this data, however, Narendra Modi doesn't want to show this data to the public."

"I gave a speech on the census. Earlier, when I used to speak about caste census, the camera pans over different angles. I have extracted data which says Govt of Hindustan isn't run by the MLAs and MPs MLAs but rather by the cabinet secretaries and secretaries," he added. Further using the word Hindustan, Gandhi said, "Out of the 90 secretaries who run the government, only three people belong to the backward class and those people control only 5% of Hindustan's budget. Are there only 5% OBCs in Hindustan? The answer can only be found from the caste census."

"When a person suffers injuries, he goes to the hospital. The doctors perform X-rays at first. The caste census is the X-ray of Hindustan. It will reveal how many OBCs, Dalits, tribals, women and general caste people are there in the country. Once this data is with the people of Hindustan then the country will be able to move forward," Rahul said.

"I asked this question in the Lok Sabha and to PM Modi why are you afraid of the cast census? Put the data of the caste census in front of the people and show the reality and truth of your. Show it to the people of Hindustan. Don't be afraid," Gandhi added. Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP and the Modi government and meanwhile attacked the PM Awas Yojana. In his speech in Bilaspur, Gandhi used the word Hindustan multiple times.

Earlier, the word Bharat was promoted by the Modi government. In the invitation to the G20 gala dinner, President Draupadi Murmu used the word Bharat instead of India.