New Delhi: Against the backdrop of a massive controversy over 'Bharat versus India', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday opted nameplate in front of him as he opened the G20 Summit written as “Bharat”. The step taken by the Narendra Modi government has further annoyed the INDIA bloc opposition.
"The BJP government has become autocratic. They do whatever they want. Amid the controversy between India and Bharat, (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi’s action of using the Bharat nameplate shows that this party does not respect democracy and as well as the Opposition,” former MP and CPM central committee member Hannan Mollah told ETV Bharat.
Congress MP in the Lok Sabha Abdul Khaleque termed it as a mockery by the ruling BJP. “The world knows our country as India. India is also specifically mentioned in the Constitution. It’s a ploy of the BJP government just to hide its defeat in the elections,” said Khaleque.
In fact, “Bharat” has also been used in a G20 booklet meant for foreign delegates titled -“Bharat, The Mother Of Democracy”. “Bharat is the official name of the country. It is mentioned in the Constitution as also in the discussions of 1946-48,” the booklet stated.
The first initiative to replace the name India with Bharat was taken in the format of an invitation letter sent by President Droupadi Murmu for a dinner invitation coinciding G20 summit as it was written as President of Bharat in place of the customary President of India. The decision generated a massive controversy with opposition leaders criticizing BJP for playing with the Constitution. The Centre is also likely to bring a resolution to replace India with Bharat in the forthcoming special session of the Parliament, which is set to be held in the national capital from September 18 to 22.
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