From ‘India’ to ‘Bharat’? Opposition's charge on Presidential invite for G20 dinner

Leaders of the ruling BJP, on the other hand, hinted that the country's name change is on the cards.

The opposition parties on Tuesday alleged that the Rashtrapati Bhavan had sent out an invite for a G20 dinner, with the invite reading ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the ‘President of India.' The Congress' Jairam Ramesh stated sarcastically that the Article 1 of the Constitution must now be changed to ‘Bharat, that was India.’

“So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhavan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of ‘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," Ramesh posted on X, the social network earlier known as Twitter. (Follow G20 Summit LIVE updates)

The development has triggered speculations that the Narendra Modi government, during the special session of Parliament, convened from September 18-22, will change the country's name from ‘India’ to ‘Bharat.’

BJP leaders drop hints

Leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), including party chief JP Nadda, meanwhile, hinted at a name change.

Nadda questioned the Congress over what he said were its repeated objections to issues regarding the nation's ‘honour’ and ‘pride.’

“REPUBLIC OF BHARAT - happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL,” posted Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

Sarma, in fact, now identifies himself as ‘Chief Minister of Assam, BHARAT’ on the microblogging platform.

(This is a developing story. Please check again for details)

By HT News Desk, New DelhiSep 05, 2023 12:11 PM IST