New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, speaking on reports that the Central government is likely to table a bill on renaming India as Bharat (Republic of Bharat) in the upcoming special Parliament Session called from September 18-22, said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was resorting to such tactics as it was afraid that it would lose votes as the Opposition alliance had named their coalition as INDIA (Indian National Democratic Inclusive Alliance). Taking a potshot at the BJP, Delhi CM said that the country belonged to the 140 crore people and not just one party and added, "Suppose if this INDIA alliance changes its name of Bharat tomorrow, will the BJP then change the name Bharat and name the country as BJP?"
"This is a country and and an ancient one, just to change the name of the country because INDIA alliance has been formed and the BJP feels that they will lose on some votes is treason," said the Delhi CM.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's tweet
Earlier, amid speculations that the government is mulling to have Bharat as the official name of India and that a bill to the effect could be tabled in the Parliament during the special session called from September 18-22, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted, "REPUBLIC OF BHARAT - happy and proud that our civilisation is marching ahead boldly towards AMRIT KAAL."
Congress attacks Centre
The Congress on Tuesday (September 5) hit out at the government and said that the Rashtrapati Bhawan had sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on September 9 in the name of "President of Bharat" instead of the usual "President of India", a clear departure from the tradition.
"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. 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," said senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.
"Article 52 - Constitution of India. There shall be a President of INDIA Can’t get more explicit than this - Can it ???????" said Congress leader Manish Tiwari in his tweet.
