New Delhi, Sept 9: As PM Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the G20 Summit at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday, interestingly, the nameplate kept in front of the prime minister read 'Bharat' instead of India.

 

 

 

This comes days after a huge controversy broke out over the shift to India from Bharat in the dinner invitation from President Droupadi Murmu to foreign leaders attending the G20 Summit this weekend.

 

 

A massive political row erupted in India after a G20 dinner invitation letter sent by the President of India referred to her as ‘President of Bharat.’ This triggered a wave of speculations that the government might be looking forward to renaming India in the upcoming special session of the Parliament.

 

However, Thakur made it clear that it was not a big deal for the president to prefer Bharat over India. “So what? It is no big deal. Earlier too you have seen several invites being sent out in the name of Bharat Sarkar. Where is the problem?" Thakur said.

 

“I am a minister of Bharat Sarkar, many news channels also have Bharat in their name. Why should anyone object to Bharat, who are these people who are allergic to the name Bharat. Who is opposing the name Bharat? Now have you even started feeling the pain at the mention of Bharat?,” Thakur said while attacking the opposition.

 

 

The preamble to the English version of the constitution starts with the words “We, the people of India…,” and then in Part One of the document it states “India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”

 

In Hindi, the constitution replaces India with Bharat everywhere, except the part defining the country’s names, which says in Hindi, “Bharat, that is India, shall be a Union of States.”

 

Changing India's name to only Bharat would require an amendment to the constitution which would need to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament.