“We don’t say ‘India Mata ki Jai’…”: BJP MP Sushil Modi amid India vs Bharat row

New Delhi [India], September 5 : Rajya Sabha MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushil Modi on Tuesday said that the name ‘India’ was given by Britishers and we do not raise the slogan ‘India Mata ki Jai’ but ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’.
He further slammed Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and said that if they have any objection then they may use ‘India’.
"In the Constitution, both India and 'Bharat' are there. For 75 years if the President of India was written then what's the objection to writing President of 'Bharat'? We don't say 'India Mata ki Jai' but 'Bharat Mata ki Jai'...The name India was given by the Britishers. RJD and JDU have an objection with the name Bharat then they use the name India,” Sushil Modi said.
The invitations extended by President Draupadi Murmu to heads of state, government, and Chief Ministers of States for an official banquet during the G20 Summit in New Delhi sparked a row as the word “India” was replaced with “Bharat”.
Rather than the customary "President of the Republic of India," the term "Bharat" was used, triggering speculation within political circles, particularly among members of the Opposition INDIA alliance.
However, welcoming the move of replacing the word "India" with "Bharat" on the invitations, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai questioned the INDIA alliance's objection to it.
The minister also said he can't understand the reason for the objection to 'Bharat' by INDIA Alliance. "Why do they (Congress) love the names of China and Pakistan?"
Opposition parties opposed the use of " Bharat" instead of “President of India”.
Opposition leaders alleged that the shift to “Bharat” instead of India was a way of preventing the alliance from being identified with the country’s name or could even be a signal from the government that the special session of Parliament to be held between September 18-22 would be about some change in the name of the country.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said, "From 2014 to 2023, the BJP had no problem with the word 'India'. After the formation of the INDIA alliance, a new hatred has arisen in their hearts. They can't digest the fact that the INDIA alliance has been accepted by the people."
"BJP is constantly trying to deflect attention from important issues of inflation, unemployment, a probe against Adani, China, Ladakh, J-K and Manipur. We are working for India and Bharat, while BJP is working for India vs Bharat," he added.