Amid the speculation that the Central government is planning to bring a proposal to rename the country from India to ‘Bharat’, Union Minister Anurag Thakur has clarified that these are just “rumours". A political row has erupted in India after a G20 dinner invite was sent out in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India', triggering a controversy that a name change for India is on the cards ahead of the special session of Parliament.
As the Opposition faction, which has come together as INDIA with an aim to defeat the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, got into a huddle and attacked the government, a government booklet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia for the 20th ASEAN-India Summit referred to him as ‘Prime Minister of Bharat’.
Between the allegations and attacks, Union Minister Anurag Thakur told The Indian Express that these were just rumours but this “clearly shows their mindset" towards the name ‘Bharat’ and how they are against ‘Bharat’. “I think these are just rumours which are taking place. All I want to say is that anyone who objects to the word Bharat clearly shows the mindset," he was quoted as saying.
On the G20 dinner invite which mentions ‘President of Bharat’, Anurag Thakur said, “Bharat ke Rashtrapati [the President of Bharat]… toh unhone likh diya [so they she wrote] President of Bharat. So what? It is no big deal. Earlier too you have seen several invites being sent out in the name of Bharat Sarkar. Where is the problem?"
“I am a minister of Bharat Sarkar, many news channels also have Bharat in their name. Why should anyone object to Bharat, who are these people who are allergic to the name Bharat. Who is opposing the name Bharat? Now have you even started feeling the pain at the mention of Bharat? These are the same people who put party before the nation and are stuck in the quicksand of politics. They also have attempted to malign the country from foreign soil," Anurag Thakur countered the Opposition.
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Updated: 06 Sep 2023, 06:30 AM IST