An invite for a G20 summit dinner with 'President of Bharat' inscribed on it has set off a major controversy and fueled talk of the government's plans to rename India in the upcoming special session of Parliament. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called attention to the invite on X (formerly Twitter), saying, "So the news is indeed true" amid calls by some BJP leaders to replace the name India with Bharat.

Ramesh tweeted that an invite from the Rashtrapati Bhavan for a dinner on September 9 - the opening day of the G20 Summit - said 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India'.

“So the news is indeed true. Rashtrapati Bhawan has sent out an invite for a G20 dinner on Sept 9th in the name of 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India' (sic),” Ramesh tweeted.

In a swipe at the government, the Congress leader wrote, “Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: ‘Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.’ But now even this 'Union of States' is under assault.”

CLAMOUR TO RENAME INDIA AS 'BHARAT'

The Constitution of India currently refers to the country as "India, that is Bharat". But ahead of the special session of Parliament slated for September 18-13, there have been growing calls to amend this to simply "Bharat". This movement is driven by a desire to shed remnants of colonial rule and embrace the nation's indigenous heritage.

In the monsoon session of Parliament, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal demanded the removal of 'India' from the Constitution, arguing that it symbolizes colonial slavery. His sentiment was echoed by fellow BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav, who called for a constitutional amendment to replace "India" with "Bharat".

"The entire country is demanding that we should use the word 'Bharat' instead of 'India'...The word 'India' is an abuse given to us by the British whereas the word 'Bharat' is a symbol of our culture...I want there should be a change in our Constitution and the word 'Bharat' should be added to it," Harnath Singh Yadav told news agency ANI.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has voiced his support for this change. Bhagwat has urged citizens to use the term "Bharat" instead of "India", emphasising that the country has been known as Bharat for centuries.

With special session of Parliament set to begin on September 18, there is speculation that a constitutional amendment bill may be introduced to effect this change. While the agenda for the session has not been released yet, the possibility of such a bill cannot be ruled out.