Finance
New Delhi: The use of ‘President of Bharat’ – in place of the traditional ‘President of India’ – on official G20 Summit invitations has sparked a big buzz.
Here are the top 10 updates on this big story
- The booklet titled “Bharat, The Mother Of Democracy” for foreign delegates at G20 also uses “Bharat” as the official name of the country. The booklet mentions, “Bharat is the official name of the country, and it is mentioned in the Constitution as well as in the discussions of 1946-48.”
- This marks a significant shift in nomenclature on the international stage as the country prepares to host US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and other top world leaders.
- BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra last night also shared a document on the PM’s visit to Indonesia that referred to him as the “Prime Minister of Bharat.”
- Sources say the government may put forward a resolution to change the country’s name later this month in the five-day special session of parliament. The fact that the government has not announced any agenda for the special session has only added to the speculation.
- The move drew scathing criticism from the Opposition. The members of the Opposition INDIA bloc accused the Narendra Modi government of “distorting history and dividing India”. Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of senior leaders of the alliance to discuss the matter.
- They linked the government move to the formation of their alliance. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal asked whether the ruling party would change the country’s name to ‘BJP’ if the opposition alliance decided to call itself ‘Bharat’.
- Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar expressed his opinion, stating that no one has the right to change the country’s name. Furthermore, he added, “I don’t understand why the ruling party is perturbed over a name (INDIA bloc) related to the country,” highlighting his confusion regarding the ruling party’s concerns.
- BJP leaders, however, welcomed the “Bharat” nomenclature and accused the Opposition of being anti-national and anti-constitutional. They said the term “Bharat” is also in Article 1 of the Constitution, which says: “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
- Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the decision to use ‘Bharat’ is a big statement against the colonial mindset. “This should have happened earlier. It gives me great satisfaction. ‘Bharat’ is our introduction and we are proud of it. The President has given priority to ‘Bharat’
- The controversy erupted just two days after the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’s ideological mentor, suggested that the country discard India and switch to Bharat.”We must stop using the word India and start using Bharat.The name of the country Bharat will remain Bharat wherever you go in the world. In spoken and written one must say Bharat,” said RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
