NEW DELHI: Is the central government planning to rename India as Bharat?
A Presidential dinner invitation sent out to G20 members has sparked a row.
Invitation of the G20 summit dinner to be hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on September 9 had written “President of Bharat”, instead of “President of India”.
This usage of “President of Bharat”, instead of “President of India” in the invitation by the Rashtrapati Bhawan has been strongly criticised by the opposition, especially the Congress.
“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’,” senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
Reacting to this statement from the Congress leader, Assam chief minister and BJP’s top gun in the Northeast, Himanta Biswa sarma said that “the Congress party seems to have a strong aversion towards Bharat”.
“It appears that the name ‘I.N.D.I alliance’ was intentionally chosen with the aim of defeating BHARAT,” said Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma.