Amid the political turmoil on the India-Bharat name row, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Indonesia from Wednesday to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit. However, the India-Bharat name row intensified further after BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra shared a document related to PM Modi’s visit to Indonesia in which he is referred to as the “Prime Minister of Bharat”. This shows that now it is not just a matter of debate within the country but the central government has started using the name “Bharat” globally.
Congress attacks Centre
Soon after Patra shared the document, the Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh hit out at the Centre, calling it a “Confused government.” “Look at how confused the Modi government is! The Prime Minister of Bharat at the 20th ASEAN-India summit,” Ramesh wrote on ‘X’ sharing the document related to Modi’s visit to Indonesia. “All this drama just because the Opposition got together and called itself INDIA,” the Congress leader added.
Row over ‘Bharat’ name
The reference to Modi as the “Prime Minister of Bharat” follows a G20 invite for a dinner on September 9 in the name of the “President of Bharat”, which sparked a row as Opposition parties alleged the government is planning to drop India and stick with just ‘Bharat’ as the name of the country. The move also further fuelled the 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.
‘G20 I-cards of Indian delegates mention Bharat’
The dinner invitation by President Murmu, which was widely shared on social media, led to a storm of reactions with the Opposition alleging that the move was reflective of the BJP being scared of the I.N.D.I.A bloc and the ruling party asserting that there was nothing wrong in using Bharat as it is part of the Constitution. According to reports, the identity cards of all the Indian delegates and bureaucrats have been changed for the upcoming G20 Summit. Instead of India, Bharat has been reportedly written on these cards.
”India’ is a symbol of ‘colonial slavery”
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 “President of India”. In the recently-concluded Monsoon Session of Parliament, BJP MP Naresh Bansal had said in the Rajya Sabha that the name “India” is a symbol of “colonial slavery” and should be removed from the Constitution.
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