Centre using Bharat to avoid INDIA bloc, says Chhattisgarh CM Bhagel
Sep 06, 2023
Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], September 6 : After Rashtrapati Bhawan issued an invitation for the G20 dinner in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India', Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday said the Central government is trying to avoid the name India because the Opposition bloc has the same name.
Attacking the Center, Baghel questioned what the Center would do if an alliance was formed in the name of Bharat. "Will the Center change that name too? he questioned.
"We got an invitation letter from the President, and till now we used to get invitation letters from 'President of India, but this time it has come from 'The President of Bharat. Is there this much problem with India? ... Now that the opposition alliance is known as India, they are avoiding it. So, tomorrow, if an alliance is formed in the name of Bharat, will they (the Centre) change that name too?," said Baghel while speaking to ANI.
Notably, this is the first time that the government has used the 'Republic of Bharat' instead of India on an official invitation. The move, however, has stirred a huge controversy as leaders from Congress and other parties have strongly opposed it, while the ruling dispensation has welcomed the decision. The leaders of the INDIA bloc have claimed that the BJP is nervous about the popularity being garnered by the Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
On Tuesday, Union Minister Meenakshi Lekhi said that the name Bharat was given by our ancestors. While speaking to ANI, she said, "Our Constitution says that India is Bharat. This name (Bharat) was given by our ancestors. In 'Vishnupuran' it is written that the land in the north of the 'Samudra' and the south of the 'Himalayas' has the name Bharat."
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday shared a post on social media platform X, which addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as ‘The Prime Minister of Bharat’. The picture shared on X pertains to Modi's participation in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th EAS Summit in Indonesia on September 7. Patra's post comes at a time when it is being widely speculated that the Centre is going to rename India as Bharat during the upcoming special session by bringing legislation.
