Shashi Tharoor gives new twist to Bharat vs India debate, gives THIS name to I.N.D.I Alliance

After creating ruckus over the invitations for a G20 dinner sent out by Rashtrapati Bhavan mentioning ‘President of Bharat’, instead of ‘President of India’, it appears that the Opposition is diving deep into making irrelevant claims.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took to X (formerly Twitter) and said the name of the Opposition alliance I.N.D.I.A could be changed to BHARAT to “stop” the ruling party from “this fatuous game of changing names.”

“We could of course call ourselves the Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT). Then perhaps the ruling party might stop this fatuous game of changing names,” Tharoor said.

We could of course call ourselves the Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT).

Then perhaps the ruling party might stop this fatuous game of changing names.

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 6, 2023

On Tuesday, Tharoor said, while there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', he hopes the Central government will not be so "foolish" to completely dispense with 'India', which has "incalculable brand value".

The Congress Thiruvananthapuram MP even claimed it was Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah who had objected to the name 'India' since it implied that "our country was the successor state to the British Raj and Pakistan a seceding state".

"While the subject is live, let's recall that it was Jinnah who objected to the name 'India' since it implied that our country was the successor state to the British Raj and Pakistan a seceding state. As with CAA, the BJP govt keeps supporting Jinnah's view!," Shashi Tharoor said.

Invitations for a G20 dinner have been sent out by President Droupadi Murmu describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India' that has triggered a massive furore with the Opposition alleging that the Modi government is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name.

In response, the ruling NDA alliances accused the Opposition bloc of opposing the name ‘Bharat’.

The G20 Summit, under India's presidency, will be held in New Delhi from 9 to 10 September. Several heads of state from across the world, including US President Joe Biden, will be attending the event.

With inputs from agencies