As the G20 Summit is underway in the national capital, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was identified as the leader representing ‘Bharat’ as he made his opening remarks at the beginning of the two-day meeting.
The name plate in front of PM Modi said ‘Bharat’ as he addressed the gathering at the Bharat Mandapam, the venue of the Summit. Customarily, it is written as ‘India’.
The government has used ‘Bharat’, a name used in the Constitution for the country along with India, in several official G20 documents. PTI reported, quoting government sources, said that it is a conscious decision.
This comes in the backdrop of the ‘India-Bharat’ renaming row that erupted following a dinner invite that has been sent to G20 delegates and other guests from President Droupadi Murmu. Instead of the customary ‘President of India’, it was written ‘President of Bharat’, with opposition parties claiming the government is trying to drop ‘India’ from the country’s name. They also linked the move to their decision to name their alliance INDIA.
There are also speculations that a resolution may be brought to rename India as Bharat during the Special Session of Parliament from September 18-22, the agenda of which is kept under wraps.
However, the ruling BJP has, however, largely avoided getting into the ‘Bharat vs India’ debate with its leaders noting that the Constitution uses both names for the country.
Meanwhile, a replica of the Konark Wheel from Odisha’s Sun Temple served as the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s welcome handshake with G20 leaders as they arrived at the summit venue, Bharat Mandapam. The backdrop carried a striking image of the Konark Wheel with the G20 logo on one side and the theme of India’s presidency of the grouping — ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – One Earth. One Family. One Future’ — on the other.
The Prime Minister welcomed heads of state and other leaders amid melodious strains of shehnai as flags of G20 member countries, invited nations and several international organisations fluttered in the pleasant morning breeze. Artists played ‘Vaishnav Jan To’, ‘Padharo Mharo Des’ and ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’ on shehnai as the leaders walked the red carpet at the Bharat Mandapam.
US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and several other top leaders were among those welcomed by Modi at the G20 Summit.