"What if opposition creates an acronym of Bharat?" CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury
Sep 06, 2023
New Delhi [India], September 6 : Alleging that the invitation for the G20 dinner sent out in the name of 'President of Bharat' came against the backdrop of a united INDIA bloc, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday questioned what would happen if opposition creates an acronym named 'Bharat'?
The senior opposition leader also accused the Central government of being agitated with the word Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).
"The first article of the Constitution says 'India that is Bharat shall be a Union of States'... It is All India Medical Sciences, Indian Space Research Organisation... IIT, IIM, there is India in all of these. It was the President of the Republic of India till now... The intention behind changing it to 'Bharat' is questionable. Opposition parties and secular forces have come together with the name of INDIA...They (BJP) are so agitated with INDIA that they have started using 'Bharat'. What if the opposition creates an abbreviation named 'Bharat'?..." Sitaram Yechury said while speaking to ANI.
Meanwhile, EAM Jaishankar in an exclusive interview with ANI, which aired on Wednesday, reacted to the ongoing controversy over using Bharat instead of India.
“India that is Bharat, it is there in the Constitution. Please, I would invite everybody to read it,” Jaishankar said.
The minister was asked about the opposition parties’ reaction and if the government is going to reposition India as Bharat coinciding with the G20 summit.
“Look when you say Bharat in a sense, a meaning and understanding and a connotation that comes with it and that is reflected in our Constitution as well,” Jaishankar said.
Opposition parties have alleged that the government was resorting to “drama” just because they got together and called their bloc as INDIA.
BJP leaders and ministers have strongly supported the move by the government.
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan posted on ‘X’ a picture of the dinner invite to him from the President and wrote a few lines from the national anthem.
"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," the minister told ANI.
