Patna: Bihar unit president of AIMIM and newly elected MLA from Amour, in Purnia, Akhtarul Iman replaced the world “Hindustan” with “Bharat” while taking oath as legislator in the Legislative Assembly on Monday, triggering criticism from a BJP member. Congress MLA from Kadwa Shakil Ahmad Khan, meanwhile, took oath in Sanskrit, calling it the mother of all languages. As Akhtarul Iman replaced “Hindustan” with “Bharat” while taking oath, Protem Speaker Jitan Ram Manjhi suggested that there should have been no issue with using the word “Hindustan”, but Iman insisted on using only “Bharat”.

BJP MLA Neeraj Singh Bablu later told reporters, “Those averse to using Hindustan can leave for Pakistan.” Iman hit back, saying that India is not a “fiefdom of some people” and the country belongs to everyone. Kadwa MLA Shakil Ahmad, who took oath in Sanskrit, said: “Those bickering over use of language in oath taking are fools. I preferred to take oath in Sanskrit over Hindi or Urdu because it is the mother of all languages. My idea was to give a subtle message that language has nothing to do with one’s religion.”

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