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- Published: September 5, 2023 13:31
New Delhi: With days to go for the upcoming G 20 Summit on September 9 & 10, a major controversy has broken over the dinner invite to delegates. The G20 summit invite allegedly says ‘President of Bharat’ rather than President of India.
Congress found a fresh ammo to corner the government over fiddling of Presidential protocol and called it an ‘assault on the Union of States’.
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and said that it was indeed truth not just rumour. He slammed the Centre and said that that Modi government was to distort the country’s history & culture.
“Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the usual ‘President of India’,” Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
In a satirical post, he said that “Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: “Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.”
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 parties?
It is BHARAT—Bring Harmony, Amity, Reconciliation And Trust.
Judega BHARAT
Jeetega INDIA! https://t.co/L0gsXUEEEK— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 5, 2023
AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that this name change from ‘India to Bharat’ was being done at the behest of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Notably, the RSS chief earlier this month had urged people to use Bharat & not ‘India’ in their conversation.
What Asssam CM & Union Minister said
The controversy over G20 summit also drew reactions from Assam CM Himanta Sarma. In a tweet, he said “Republic Of Bharat was heading boldly towards Amrit Kaal.”
REPUBLIC OF BHARAT – happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) September 5, 2023
Union Minister of state for Electronics & IT Rajeev Chandrashekar, when questioned whether name change was in the agenda during Parliament’s special session, didn’t confirm or deny it but brushed aside Congress objection to Bharat.
#WATCH | On G20 Summit dinner invitations at Rashtrapati Bhawan sent in the name of ‘President of Bharat’, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, “I don’t understand what is the problem with this? Our country is ‘Bharat’… Congress have a… pic.twitter.com/k519s3rxq0
— ANI (@ANI) September 5, 2023
The G20 Summit is being held in the capital under India’s presidency, from September 9 to 10. Several heads of state from US President Joe Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to attend the event.