The decision to replace the conventional “President of India” with “President of Bharat” in an official invitation extended to foreign dignitaries attending the G20 summit has triggered a flurry of political responses. While members of the opposition have criticized this move, connecting it to their 28-party coalition’s decision to call themselves “INDIA,” the BJP has raised questions about why some parties seem to object to anything related to the country’s honor and pride.
One of the most pointed reactions to the wording used in the invitation came from Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP. He questioned whether the ruling party would consider changing the country’s name to ‘BJP’ if the opposition alliance decided to adopt the name ‘Bharat.’
During a press conference held on Tuesday, the Delhi Chief Minister expressed in Hindi, “I don’t have any official information indicating that such a name change is underway. Just because several opposition parties have formed an alliance and named it INDIA, does that mean the government will alter the country’s name? The nation belongs to 1.4 billion people, not just one party. If the alliance’s name becomes Bharat, will they then change Bharat’s name to BJP?”
Raghav Chadha, a colleague of Mr. Kejriwal and a Rajya Sabha MP, also criticized the BJP, emphasizing that the country does not exclusively belong to any single political party.
