Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan released an image of the President’s invitation to the G20 dinner, which had the moniker ‘Republic of Bharat’.
Is our nation going to be called ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘INDIA’? The speculation over a prospective name change by the Narendra Modi government has become louder after a viral photo of a G20 dinner invite given by Rashtrapati Bhawan was signed in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the customary ‘President of India’.
The opposition parties, notably the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, have slammed the invitation. The grand old party has even accused the current regime of attempting to rewrite history in order to appease the newly established I.N.D.I.A. alliance.
The debate over the G20 dinner invitation comes ahead of a special session of parliament, which has already sparked much speculation about what would be on the agenda.
Congress condemns the ‘Republic of Bharat’ G20 invitation
Several Congress politicians, including Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Manish Tewari, and Shashi Tharoor, turned to the social networking site X (previously Twitter) to query the Modi government over the country’s supposed renaming.
“So the news is correct. Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent an invitation to a G20 dinner on September 9th in the name of the ‘President of Bharat’ rather than the normal ‘President of India’. Article 1 of the Constitution now reads: “Bharat, that is, India, shall be a Union of States.” But today, even this “Union of States” is under attack, according to Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh.
KC Venugopal, Ramesh’s party colleague and AICC general secretary, also blasted the BJP. “The destructive mind of the BJP can only think of ways to divide people.” They are once again causing a schism between Indians and Bharatiyas. To be clear, we are identical! According to Article 1, India, or Bharat, shall be a Union of States. They are playing petty politics because they are afraid of INDIA. Try anything you want, Modi ji. Jeetega INDIA, Judega Bharat!”
Shashi Tharoor, a Congress MP, proposed using both ‘India’ and ‘Bharat’. “While there is no constitutional objection to calling India “Bharat,” one of the country’s two official names, I hope the government will not be so rash as to abandon “India,” which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries.” We should continue to use both terms rather than give up our claim to a name steeped in history, a name known across the world,” he said on X.
The BJP’s major hint about ‘Bharat’
Unfazed by the criticism, the Bharatiya Janata Party lashed out at the I.N.D.I.’s constituents.A coalition accusing them of loathing the name “Bharat.”
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan posted the President’s invitation with the hashtag ‘Republic of Bharat’ on his X account.
In a post on X, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called the measure a “bold step towards Amrit Kaal.”
“REPUBLIC OF BHARAT – happy and proud that our civilization is marching boldly forward towards AMRIT KAAL,” he declared.
“My concern has now been confirmed. The Congress party appears to have a great dislike for Bharat. “It appears that the name ‘I.N.D.I alliance’ was chosen with the intention of defeating BHARAT,” Sarma remarked.
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What does the Indian Constitution say?
The opposition parties have used Article 1 of the Constitution to back up their claims in the ‘Bharat’ vs. ‘India’ debate. The following is from the article:
“(1) India, or Bharat, shall be a federation of states.”
(2) The states and territories are as defined in the First Schedule.
(3) India’s territory must include —
(a) the states’ territory;
(b) the Union territories listed in the First Schedule;
(c) any other areas that may be acquired.”
