'President of Bharat’: Invite for G20 dinner stir controversy, Congress says 'Union of States' is under assault

New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack against the BJP-led Central government over the invitation to a G20 summit dinner hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, which the party claimed that the invitations had ‘President of Bharat’ inscribed on them, instead of ‘President of India’.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh shared the invitation letter on the social media post X which claimed that invitations at the Rashtrapati Bhavan had ‘President of Bharat’ inscribed on them instead of ‘President of India’.

"So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhavan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India," he said in a post on X.

The Congress leader further added that, "Now, Article 1 of the Constitution can read: “Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.” But now even this “Union of States” is under assault.

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So the news is indeed true.

Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'.

Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: “Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.”…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 5, 2023 >

Meanwhile the officials say this is the first change of India's nomenclature for any official event.

The term "Bharat" is also in the Constitution, officials pointed out. "India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States," it says in Article 1 of the Constitution.

The G20 Summit is being held in the National Capital from September 9 to 10 under India’s presidency and several heads of state from across the world, will be attending the event.

Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal alleged that the saffron party was creating a rift between Indians and Bharatiyas.

“This is petty politics because they are scared of INDIA. Try what you will, Modi ji. Judega Bharat, Jeetega INDIA!,” he said.

Senior RJD MP Manoj K Jha said he never thought that the government and the BJP would be troubled by their coalition I.N.D.I.A, which was only formed a few weeks ago. “Article 1 of the Constitution clearly states that India, that is Bharat, is a union of states. They should read our tagline ‘Judega Bharat, Jeetega India’.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also targeted the Modi led government and said, "Will BJP replace 'Bharat' with something else, if INDIA alliance changes its name to Bharat?"

Countering the opposition, IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said "I don't understand what is the problem with this? Our country is 'Bharat'... Congress has a problem with everything. I don't have a problem with 'Bharat'.

Our country is 'Bharat' and there should be no doubt about it. We have to wait and see if it will be a part of the Special Session of Parliament."

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he is happy and proud that the country’s civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards Amrit Kaal.

Talking to the social media platform, X, the Chief Minister said, “Republic of Bharat- happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards Amrit Kaal.” (UNI)