In the debate about 'India' vs 'Bharat,' Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the government, saying, 'We upset...

 Controversy Surrounding Presidential Title Sparks Debate Between 'India' and 'Bharat' Labels

A political row ignited last week as invitations for the grand G20 dinner referred to President Droupadi Murmu as 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India'. This unexpected change sparked speculation that the ruling government might be considering a country name alteration, eliciting strong reactions from the opposition, who labeled it a 'distraction'.

In the midst of the India versus Bharat debate, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took a dig at the BJP-led central government, stating that he had no issue with either of the names since both are enshrined in the Constitution. During a press conference, Gandhi emphasized, "It (the Constitution) starts with 'India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.' So, I don't really see a problem there. Both words are perfectly acceptable."

Gandhi humorously added, "…But I think maybe we irritated the government a little bit because we named our coalition 'INDIA.' So, that got more heated. Now they decided to change the name of the country...I mean, we could always give our coalition a second name as well. But, people act in strange ways."

Adding to the controversy, the nameplate in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his inaugural address at the G20 Summit read 'Bharat' instead of India.

As the India-Bharat debate continued to gain momentum, Prime Minister Modi, on September 6, just ahead of the mega G20 Summit, urged his ministerial colleagues to avoid the political row, emphasizing that it is the "country's ancient name."