Can the opposition alliance be called India?The court gives a final opportunity to plead

The opposition alliance was formed in July 2023.

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday gave the Center and Opposition parties a last chance to file responses in a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to ban the opposition political alliance from using the acronym INDIA (Indian Alliance for Inclusive Development).

In view of the general election schedule notified by the ECI, the Delhi High Court, while hearing the petitioner’s application seeking early hearing of the matter, refused to conduct early hearing in the PIL against the opposition party using the abbreviation INDIA.

The first phase of voting for the 2024 general election will be held on April 19.

Giving the last opportunity to file a reply, a bench of Justices Manmohan and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said “an attempt will be made to hear and dispose of the matter on April 10”.

Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI), in its reply to the Delhi High Court, said that it cannot regulate political alliances while responding to the opposition alliance’s request to use the abbreviation “INDIA”.

“The respondent (ECI) is established under Article 324 of the Constitution of India to supervise, direct and control the conduct of all elections to the Parliament, State Legislatures and to the offices of President and Vice President,” the ECI said.

The poll panel said the powers of the respondents will be exercised in accordance with the laws passed by Parliament, although the respondents have the power to regulate matters relating to elections in the absence of any existing law to the contrary.

“The respondents are entitled to register associations of political parties or individuals under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (“RP Act”),” it added.

Political alliances are not considered regulated entities under the Representation of the People Act or the Constitution.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had sought responses from the Centre, ECI and several opposition parties in a public interest litigation (PIL) directing the opposition parties to object to the use of the acronym INDIA for their political alliance.

The court also sought responses from the opposition parties named in the petition.

Petitioner Girish Upadhya, through advocate Vaibhav Singh, said that several political parties are using the national flag as the symbol of their alliance and it is a way to attract and gain sympathy from innocent citizens and Further strategic moves on the ballot are also tools of push or sparks that can lead to political hatred, ultimately leading to political violence.

The complaint said the acronym India was used by political parties in bad faith, which would only act as a factor to “diminish the goodwill of our great country India (Bharat) not only in our country but also at various international platforms”.

The petition states that if the Indian and international media use the word ‘India’ as an abbreviation but not in its full form (Indian Alliance for National Development Inclusion), then if the alliance i.e. India (Indian Alliance for National Development Inclusion), will be Causing chaos among innocent citizens. If the Alliance for Development Inclusion) fails or is defeated in the 2024 general election, India as a whole is expected to be defeated, which will once again hurt the sentiments of innocent citizens of the country and may lead to political violence in the country.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)