'Prime Minister Of Bharat' Narendra Modi to Visit Indonesia; Fresh Turn in 'India Name Change Row'

After the G20 invite row, another fresh controversy has emerged. In a post shared by BJP leader Sambit Patra on Wednesday, PM Modi is referred to as the “Prime Minister of Bharat” for the ASEAN visit to Indonesia.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday defended Centre’s idea. During an interview, Jaishankar said connotation of the word ‘Bharat’ is also reflected in the Constitution.

“India, that is Bharat, is there in the Constitution. Please, I would invite everybody to read it,” Jaishankar to the newsagency.

The minister was inquired about the response from opposition parties and whether the government intends to rebrand India as “Bharat” in alignment 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 was quoted as saying to ANI.

Congress on Tuesday hit back at the government after the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President House) sent out invites for a G20 dinner of September 9 in the name of President of Bharat instead of the usual President of India saying now even this “Union of States” is under assault.

In a post on X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “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’.”

“Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: ‘Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States’. But now even this ‘Union of States’ is under assault,” the Congress communication in-charge said

Defending the use of Bharat top BJP leader JP Nadda asked why does the Congress party have “so much objection to every subject related to the honor and pride of the country?”

Along with the post, he also shared the itinerary which read, “Visit of Prime Minister of Bharat Narendra Modi to the Republic of Indonesia (20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th EAS Summit) September 7, 2023.”

Opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc has slammed the BJP government after the Rashtrapati Bhavan sent out invites for the G20 dinner of September 9 in the name of President of Bharat, saying the country doesn’t belong to a political party.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Jakarta for a two-day visit on September 6-7 to attend the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit being hosted by Indonesia as the current Chair of ASEAN.