"May lead to political violence, hatred; seeks to polarize voters": Kerala High Court PIL against 26 opposition parties' use of 'I.N.D.I.A'

KOCHI: A public interest litigation petition has been filed before the Kerala High Court to restrain the political alliance consisting of 26 opposition parties from using the acronym I.N.D.I.A (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) for the upcoming assembly and parliament elections.

The plea states that on July 2023, 26 opposition political parties in India joined hands together to form an alliance called I.N.D.I.A to defeat the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the parliamentary elections in 2024. The petitioner, Kevin Peter Thomas, argues that the term I.N.D.I.A is no coincidence. 

They have purposefully selected this name just to get its acronym INDIA. Its expansion is Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. This name in the National Language (Hindi) is Bharatiya Rashtriya Vikasatmaka Samaveshi Gathabhan. Cancelling this definition in Hindi, they purposefully use the name INDIA to befool the Indian Electorate," he said.

The plea also argues that use of "I.N.D.I.A" as an acronym by the political alliance is a violation of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950 which prohibits the improper use of certain names and emblems without prior permission from the Central government.

The name, India, the plea says, is a national symbol. Therefore it is the petitioners case that the respondent political parties are trying to use the name of the country as an acronym for their Alliance which may lead to political hatred and violence. 

The name, I.N.D.I.A has been improperly used to gain undue influence in elections by the newly formed alliance. By naming their alliance as I.N.D.I.A, these parties have attempted to put undue influence on the electorate by personifying their alliance as the nation itself. This act of these parties has hurt the sentiments of all Indians who identify themselves as citizens of India.

Adding on, the plea states that the use of the name I.N.D.I.A in the political alliance is an attempt to deceive and polarise the voters. This violates class 1 of the Model Code of Conduct, which prohibits activities that aggravate existing differences, create mutual hatred, or cause tension between different castes, and communities.

The alliances actions aim to divide the diverse population in India and manipulate voters by presenting other parties as anti-Indian. It is an attempt to distort the unity and diversity represented by the name INDIA. It is a grave insult to the founding principles of the Indian Constitution. It will also affect the emotional impact on Indians who identify themselves as citizens of India. The use of the name I.N.D.I.A by the alliance could disturb public order, peace and tranquillity in the country," the petition added.

The plea also throws light on when during a press conference in July, the West Bengal Chief Minister asked the NDA and BJP if they could challenge INDIA and said INDIA would win and BJP would lose. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said yeh ladai NDA aour INDIA ke beech me hai.(This battle is between NDA and INDIA, between Narendra Modi and INDIA). 

By dragging the name of the country, Rahul Gandhi has cunningly presented the name of their alliance and tried to prove that the NDA/BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in conflict with our nation, i.e. I.N.D.I.A, the plea alleges. 

On these grounds, the petition prays to direct the Government of India and the Election Commission of India to prevent the use of acronym INDIA as well as I.N.D.I.A.


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