Guwahati, Jul 18 (PTI) Taking a dig at opposition parties which formed a coalition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday claimed that British had named the country India and the fight should be to free the nation from "colonial legacies".

Sarma's comment comes after 26 opposition parties formed the coalition to unitedly take on the ruling NDA.

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"Our civilisational conflict is pivoted around India and Bharat. The British named our country as India. We must strive to free ourselves from colonial legacies," Sarma said on Twitter.

Stating that the forefathers had fought for 'Bharat', he said, "We will continue to work for Bharat."

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"BJP for BHARAT," said the convenor of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), the regional arm of the National Democratic Alliance.

Announcing the name of the opposition bloc at a press conference in Bengaluru after a nearly four-hour-long meeting of the 26 parties, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "We'll fight the 2024 Lok Sabha elections unitedly and we will come out with great success."

He said a committee of 11 members will be set up for coordination, and a convenor will be selected at the next meeting in Mumbai.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)