Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Tuesday hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janaya Party over the President's G20 invite mentioning ‘Republic of Bharat’, that has triggered speculations of the country being renamed as ‘Bharat’.
"Vote for India, Make in India, Standup India, Shining India..there is mention of India on Aadhaar & passport..."We the People of India" mentioned in the Constitution. INDIA alliance's slogan says 'Judega India, Jeetega Bharat'. If they have a problem with 'INDIA' then they should have a problem with 'Bharat' also...These (BJP) people are scared", the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was quoted by ANI as saying.
Tejashwi Yadav, whose party RJD is a member of the newly formed I.N.D.I.A alliance, is not the only opposition leader to have sniped at the BJP-ruled government.
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Opposition parties including Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) have opposed the G20 invite being sent in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of ‘President of India’, days before the scheduled special session of parliament.
“So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan 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. But now even this “Union of States” is under assault”, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had posted on X.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also hit out at the BJP. “I have no official information on this. I have heard rumours. 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”, he said.
However, several BJP leaders and ministers have welcomed the development and called it a ‘civilisational march’ while accusing the opposition of being averse to the term ‘Bharat’.
‘Our country was, is and will be Bharat’
“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”, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan told ANI. He even shared a screenshot of the invite with ‘President of Bharat’ written on it.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said,"Constitution clearly says "India, that is Bharat...". Bharat name has been there for thousands of years so there is no need to coin a new name. Our country was, is and will be 'Bharat'. You mentioned INDIA alliance, but what does 'A' in the name stand for? What Congress has started is INDI Alliance...People open their shops and shops shut down too. But Bharat will remain as long as the sun and moon remain."