New Delhi: Invites to a dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu on 9 September at Bharat Mandapam for world leaders during the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi have been sent out in the name of the ‘President of Bharat’ rather than the customary ‘President of India’.
Later, these invites for the G20 dinner in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ sparked controversy. While senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the presidential invitation, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared India the “Republic of Bharat.”
REPUBLIC OF BHARAT – happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 5, 2023
“This should have happened earlier. This gives great satisfaction to the mind. ‘Bharat’ is our introduction. We are proud of it. The President has given priority to ‘Bharat’. This is the biggest statement to come out of the colonial mindset,” said Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
#WATCH | Delhi: On G20 Summit dinner invitations at Rashtrapati Bhawan sent in the name of ‘President of Bharat’, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says, “This should have happened earlier. This gives great satisfaction to the mind. ‘Bharat’ is our introduction. We are proud of… pic.twitter.com/aQ0Pm4JYOk
— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2023
BJP president JP Nadda retorted that the Congress was “anti-national” and “anti-constitution”.
कांग्रेस को देश के सम्मान एवं गौरव से जुड़े हर विषय से इतनी आपत्ति क्यों है?
भारत जोड़ो के नाम पर राजनीतिक यात्रा करने वालों को “भारत माता की जय” के उद्घोष से नफरत क्यों है?
स्पष्ट है कि कांग्रेस के मन में न देश के प्रति सम्मान है, न देश के संविधान के प्रति और न ही संवैधानिक…
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) September 5, 2023
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said it would be “foolish” to completely drop the name “India”.
While there is no constitutional objection to calling India “Bharat”, which is one of the country’s two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with “India”, which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries. We should… pic.twitter.com/V6ucaIfWqj
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 5, 2023
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned whether the government would change the country’s name again if the opposition alliance rechristened itself “Bharat” from INDIA.
“Why is this happening? It is being said that this is being done because we have formed an alliance named INDIA… The country belongs to 140 crore people and not to one party. If INDIA alliance rechristens itself Bharat, will they change the name of Bharat also?” said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief.
The G20 Summit is being held in the national capital from September 9 to 10 under India’s presidency and several heads of state from across the world, including US President Joe Biden, are attending the event.