India that is Bharat..is there in Constitution, says EAM Jaishankar

Responding on the ongoing debate over the name of the country, EAM S Jaishankar in an interview said, "India, that is Bharat - it is there in the Constitution. I would invite everybody to read it. When you say Bharat, in a sense, a meaning and an understanding and a connotation that comes with it and I think that is reflected in our Constitution as well."

New Delhi : External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, speaking on the row over the Central government's invitation cards to the G20 Summit, asserted that the word Bharat is there in the Constitution and that he would invite everybody to read the same. The invitation cards mentioned 'Bharat', which triggered a heated debate on its propriety.

Responding to a query in an interview, Jaishankar has said, "India, that is Bharat - it is there in the Constitution. I would invite everybody to read it. When you say Bharat, in a sense, a meaning and an understanding and a connotation that comes with it and I think that is reflected in our Constitution as well."

The External Affairs Minister (EAM) has credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s changed attitude at international fora, a reason for India finding its place at the high table of diplomacy. “It is a different world, a different India. It is a different Prime Minister. It is a different government. And that is why you have all that you haven't seen in the past,” he said.

Speaking on India taking up the voice of the Global South to G20, the minister said that no other presidency had aimed at getting developing countries together. No other G-20 presidency has tried to get together developing countries who are not on the table and say--please come, sit with us, tell us what are your concerns. And we will distil those concerns and place them before the G-20. That is a unique exercise,” the foreign affairs minister said.

Jaishankar said that India has a special responsibility in this changing world scenario. “I see it more for India as a responsibility, that we have the responsibility today in a very difficult world. How do you bring people together? How do you make everybody understand that we all have a bigger responsibility and therefore please, can we kind of get our act together here and do what is right by the world,” he said. (ANI)