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‘India, that is Bharat’ written in Constitution: EAM Jaishankar plays down name change controversy

06 September 2023 11:08 (UTC +04:00)

Amid the raging controversy over government’s move to use the term ‘Bharat’ instead of India to address the President and Prime Minister of the country, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that the name “Bharat” is also mentioned in the Indian Constitution and that he would like everyone to read it, APA reports citing The Statesman.

“India that is Bharat, it is there in the Constitution. Please, I would invite everybody to read it,” news agency ANI quoted the minister as saying in an exclusive interview.

Earlier on Monday, President Droupadi Murmu’s official dinner invitation to the leaders of G20 summit mentioned her as “President of Bharat” instead of the traditional “President of India”. Later, a note on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia for the 18th ASEAN-India summit used the term “Prime Minister of Bharat”.

The move irked the Opposition parties who joined hands in criticising the government for trying to change the country’s name. Reacting to Jaishankar’s clarification, RJD MP Manoj Jha argued that the name was changed because the Opposition has named their alliance INDIA – an abbreviation of Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance.

There are rumours that the government will effect the name change during the five-day special session of Parliament starting from September 18. The government has kept the agenda of the special session hidden.