Invitations for a G20 dinner, sent out by President Droupadi Murmu, restyling her position as “President of Bharat” instead of the customary “President of India”, triggered a massive outcry on Tuesday. The Opposition alleged that the Centre is planning to drop “India” and stick with just “Bharat” as the country’s name.
Dubbing the move as divisive and a distortion of history, the Opposition claimed that the Government was scared of the INDIA bloc. Union Ministers and ruling party leaders, however, hailed the move, saying the name Bharat is even part of the Constitution.
The move also fueled speculation that the issue of changing the name of the country could come up during the five-day special session of Parliament beginning September 18.
“Bharat” has been used as the name of the country in some of the documents relating to the G20, and the move was part of the conscious decision of the Government, sources said.
“Bharat is the official name of the country. It is mentioned in the Constitution as well as in the discussions of 1946-48,” reads a booklet prepared for G20 delegates.
As Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Giriraj Singh shared their respective G20 dinner invitations from Murmu for Saturday at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the G20 summit of world leaders, the Congress slammed the Government, saying it was trying to destroy history.
However, senior BJP leaders and Union Ministers cheered the move by Rashtrapati Bhavan. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar asked the Opposition what the problem is with using “President of Bharat” as our country is also Bharat.
The invitation led the Opposition to charge that the move was reflective of the BJP being scared of the INDIA bloc.
Several Opposition leaders shared Article 1 of the Constitution, which states that “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States,” and also the provision that refers to the country’s president as the “President of India.”
Congress chief spokesman Jairam Ramesh said in a social media post, “So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the usual ‘President of India’.”
“Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States. But now even this Union of States is under assault,” Ramesh alleged.
In another post, he said the BJP was the one that had come up with the “India Shining” campaign, to which the Congress’ response was “Aam Aadmi ko Kya Mila”.
“Also, remember that it was the BJP that came up with Digital India, Start-Up India, New India, and so on, to which the Congress’ response was the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the first anniversary of whose launch is the day after tomorrow,” he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said, “We all know India is Bharat, but the world knows us as India.” What suddenly changed was that we should use only Bharat, she quipped.
Her Tamil Nadu counterpart MK Stalin too lashed out at the Government over the issue, saying that after “non-BJP forces united to dethrone the fascist BJP regime” and aptly named their alliance INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance), now the BJP wants to change ‘India’ for ‘Bharat.’
Stalin himself is embroiled in a controversy over a remark “eradicate Sanatan Dharam” made by his son Udaynidhi, who is a minister in the Tamil Nadu cabinet.
While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked whether the BJP would change the name of Bharat if the Opposition alliance INDIA rechristened itself Bharat, NCP president Sharad Pawar said no one has the right to change the country’s name.
RJD leader and a member of Rajya Sabha Manoj Jha said the BJP is jittery because of the INDIA alliance. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said the BJP was using its majority in Parliament to treat the entire country as its “fiefdom.”
Trashing the Opposition charge, the BJP reacted with delight to the G20 dinner invitation that referred to Droupadi Murmu as the “President of Bharat,” saying the use of the Hindi name for the country underscores its “civilisation march,” and rejected the Opposition’s charge.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on the microblogging site X, “Republic of Bharat — happy and proud that our civilization is marching ahead boldly towards Amrit Kaal.”
Netizens too went on an overdrive over the political slugfest, with the lyrics “Bharat Ka Rahane Waalaa Hoon, Bharat Ki Baat Sunata Hoon,” a popular song from Manoj Kumar starrer Purab Aur Paschim trending on X with the hashtag “Bharat’’ (in Hindi and English). Megastar Amitabh Bachchan took to X and simply wrote, “Bharat mata ki jai.” He also shared a tricolor emoji with the post.
