Row over Bharat' tag in Murmu's G20 invite

NEW DELHI: Controversy erupted on Tuesday after a G20 dinner invitation from the “President of Bharat” was shared by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

The invite, shared on X (formerly Twitter), read: “President of Bharat requests the pleasure of the company ….,” sparking a flurry of reactions from the Opposition. Amid speculations of India being renamed to Bharat, the Congress alleged that the “Union of States” is under assault and this was happening as the BJP was jittery about the I.N.D.I.A. alliance.

The demand to change India’s name to Bharat has been raised by several BJP leaders through private member bills in the past, stating that the name India was a reminder of ‘colonial slavery’ and should be removed from the Constitution. Earlier in June, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea seeking renaming of India as Bharat.

The latest Bharat invite ‘bomb’ comes days after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat urged people to use the name Bharat instead of India at an event in Guwahati.

While there has been no official word from the government on the issue, the Opposition is fuming as the name India has been replaced with Bharat on G20 invitation cards.

It stated that whatever the name may be, the government must not be foolish to dispense the name India, which has incalculable brand value.

“So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhavan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of the ‘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. Now, even this “Union of States” is under assault,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

The Congress leader also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of distorting history and dividing the country.

“But we will not be deterred. After all, what is the objective of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance? It Bharat Bring Harmony, Amity, Reconciliation, and Trust. Judega Bharat Jeetega India!” said Ramesh.

“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 continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world,” said Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

RJD MP Manoj Jha said the BJP was jittery because of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance and people will soon push them out of power. “It has been only a few weeks since the I.N.D.I.A. alliance was formed and you are bringing a resolution to change the ‘Republic of India’ to the ‘Republic of Bharat”.

Our Constitution very clearly says ‘India, that is Bharat’ and our (I.N.D.I.A. bloc) tagline says —Judega Bharat, Jitega India. You will be neither able to take India nor Bharat. People will snatch away the power that is enabling you to do this, people love both India and Bharat,” said Jha.

Responding to the Congress’ attack, BJP leaders jumped in, saying that the Congress seems to have a strong aversion towards Bharat and the Opposition alliance intentionally chose I.N.D.I.A. as its name with the aim of defeating Bharat.

BJP president J.P. Nadda accused the Congress of having no respect for either the country or the Constitution and Constitutional institutions, as he asked why it “hates” the chant of “Bharat Mata ki jai”.

“Republic of Bharat — happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards Amrit Kaal. Now my apprehension has proven to be true. The Congress seems to have a strong aversion towards Bharat.

It appears that the name I.N.D.I.A alliance was intentionally chosen with the aim of defeating Bharat,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said India is an accepted name for the country and is incorporated in the “Constitution of India”.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee questioned what was the sudden need for the country to be called Bharat. “We call the country Bharat, what is new in this? In English, we say India. There’s nothing new to be done. The world knows us as India. What happened suddenly that the name of the country needs to be changed?” she asked.

“We accept both India and Bharat names and feel proud of them. The 'I' in Isro is India, the 'I' in IITs is India, the 'I' in IIMs is India, and the 'I' in IPS is India. The BJP’s politics has stooped so low because they are afraid of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance," said Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the BJP was using its majority in Parliament to treat the entire country as its “fiefdom”. “The BJP's aversion to India's foundational principle of unity in diversity has touched a new low. By reducing India’s many names from Hindustan and India to now only Bharat shows its pettiness and intolerance,” she posted on X.