'Bharat' row
Amid 'Bharat' buzz, Congress leaders gather at Sonia Gandhi's home, INDIA bloc meet to follow
New Delhi/IBNS: Amid the buzz over the change of the country's name from 'India' to 'Bharat', Congress parliamentary leaders have gathered at Sonia Gandhi's house for a meeting, which will be followed by another of the opposition alliance 'INDIA' bloc.
The second meeting of the opposition bloc will be held at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's house.
The buzz exploded this morning with the news that President Droupadi Murmu's invitation to G20 leaders introduces her as the "President of Bharat" instead of the traditional "President of India".
A letter from President Droupadi Murmu starts with "The President of Bharat requests..."
This is the first time the word "Bharat" is used instead of "India" in an official invitation.
"Bharat" has also reportedly been used in a G20 booklet which has been handed over to foreign delegates. The title of the booklet has been kept "Bharat, The Mother of Democracy".
As the same comes ahead of parliament's five-day special session starting September 18 and with no agenda provided for the same by the government, speculations are rife over the rekindled debate on 'India versus Bharat'.
Many BJP leaders and celebrities including Amitabh Bachchan, Virender Sehwag and others, have hailed "Bharat" on social media.
Opposition reactions:
The use of the word 'Bharat' on the president's formal invitation to G20 leaders has triggered protests from the Opposition camp, which called it the government's knee-jerk reaction to the formation of the INDIA bloc ahead of next year's general election.
Many leaders declared that the BJP has not received any mandate to change the name of the country.
"Will BJP replace 'Bharat' with something else, if INDIA alliance changes its name to Bharat?" Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal questioned.
"What happened suddenly that you will change the name of the country?" questioned Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, pointing out that while in Hindi, the term "Bharat ka Samvidhan (Constitution of India)" is used, "the world knows us by the name of India".
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