Amid the ‘India-Bharat’ renaming row, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday took a swipe at the BJP-led government saying the the Opposition bloc INDIA could call itself the “Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT)” and then perhaps the ruling party might stop the “fatuous game of changing names”.
In a post on X, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said, “We could of course call ourselves the Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT). Then perhaps the ruling party might stop this fatuous game of changing names.”
The Congress is a constituent of the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a grouping of 28 political parties to take on the BJP-led NDA in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Tharoor’s statement comes after invitations for a G20 dinner sent out by President Droupadi Murmu described her position as ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the customary ‘President of India’. The move triggered a massive row with the Opposition alleging that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government is planning to drop India and call it Bharat instead.
The country is set to host the G20 Heads of State and Government summit in the national capital from September 9-10, which will be attended by leaders from the most powerful nations in the world, including US President Joe Biden. The G20, or the Group of Twenty, comprises 19 countries and the European Union.
A day earlier, Tharoor said that while there is no constitutional objection to calling India ‘Bharat’, he hoped that the Modi government will not be so “foolish” to completely dispense with ‘India’, which has “incalculable brand value”.
He also claimed that Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah who had objected to the name ‘India’ since it implied that “our country was the successor state to the British Raj and Pakistan a seceding state”.
“While there is no constitutional objection to calling India ‘Bharat’, which is one of the country’s two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with ‘India’, which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries,” the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
“We should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said on X, “Mr. Modi can continue to distort history and divide India, that is Bharat, that is a Union of States. But we will not be deterred. After all, what is the objective of INDIA (alliance) parties? It is BHARAT—Bring Harmony, Amity, Reconciliation And Trust. Judega BHARAT. Jeetega INDIA!”
