Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and asked whether it would change the name of Bharat if the opposition alliance INDIA rechristens itself Bharat.
"These people are so upset with the INDIA alliance that they will even change the name of the country? If tomorrow we name our alliance “Bharat”, will they change the name “Bharat” as well? Will they name it BJP," he asked at a press conference.
He was reacting to the controversy that has erupted after a G20 dinner invite in the name of 'President of Bharat' went viral.
The G20 dinner invite, issued in the name of 'The President of Bharat', is being widely shared on social media, amid opposition parties alleging that the government is trying to change the name of the country from 'India' to 'Bharat'.
The invitation is for Saturday at 8 pm at Bharat Mandapam, the venue for the G20 summit.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal's party colleague and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha also hit out at the BJP and said that the country does not belong to one political party.
"The BJP's recent move to change the reference from 'President of India' to 'President of Bharat' on official G20 summit invitations has raised eyebrows and ignited a public debate. How can the BJP strike down 'INDIA'? The country doesn't belong to a political party; it belongs to 135 crore Indians. Our national identity is not the BJP's personal property that it can modify on whims and fancies. Judega Bharat. Jeetega INDIA," Chadha posted on X, formerly Twitter.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said, "We all know India is Bharat, but world knows us as India."
What changed suddenly that we should use only Bharat, she asked, as per PTI.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said while there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', he hopes the government will not be so foolish to completely dispense with 'India' which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries.