Bharat 'Bharat-India' row: 'Stay out of it,' PM Modi tells Ministers
New Delhi/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked his colleagues to refrain from commenting on the row which erupted over a G20 invitation carrying the term "President of Bharat" instead of the traditional use of "President of India".
"Do not comment," said Modi as various media reports claimed.
What is the row?
"President of Bharat" instead of the traditional use of "President of India" in an invitation to foreign leaders for a G20 dinner has triggered speculation over whether the Modi government is mulling a change in the country's name officially.
A letter from President Droupadi Murmu starts with "The President of Bharat requests..."
This is the first time the word "Bharat" is used instead of "India" in an official invitation.
"Bharat" has also reportedly been used in a G20 booklet which has been handed over to foreign delegates. The title of the booklet has been kept "Bharat, The Mother of Democracy".
Amid the new change in India's projection at the international level, officials argued "Bharat" is also in the Constitution whose Article 1 reads, "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States".
'Prime Minister Of Bharat' adds fuel to name change row
After the usage of 'President of Bharat' instead of the traditional 'President of India' on Tuesday, another document has come to light that refers to Narendra Modi as the 'Prime Minister of Bharat'.
This time a note on PM Modi's visit to Indonesia on Wednesday and Thursday for the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit refers to him as the 'Prime Minister of Bharat'.
The note was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra and invited an immediate attack from the Congress.
‘The Prime Minister Of Bharat’ pic.twitter.com/lHozUHSoC4
— Sambit Patra (@sambitswaraj) September 5, 2023
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