Congress on Tuesday, September 5, slammed the Union government after the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President House) sent out invites for a G20 dinner to be held on September 9, in the name of ‘President of Bharat’ instead of the usual term ‘President of India’. Referring to media reports speculating that the BJP-led Union government was planning to remove the word ‘India’ from the Constitution through a Bill in the upcoming special session of Parliament, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said, “So the news is indeed true… 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.”
The Narendra Modi-led Union government has been emphasising ‘liberating’ Indians from any “slavery mindset” or “colonial baggage” during ‘Amrit Kaal’ — a term used by the government to refer to the 25-year-period after having completed 75 years since freedom from colonial rule. It is now reportedly planning to remove the word ‘India’ from the Constitution, sources itold IANS, adding that a preparation pertaining to the proposal is underway.
The sources said that at the upcoming Special Session of Parliament scheduled to be held from September 18-22, the government is likely to present Bills related to the 'India' word omission proposal. The agenda for the session, however, is yet to be announced officially.
Recently, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat had also said that "our country's name has been Bharat for centuries", while appealing to people to use the word ‘Bharat’ instead of ‘India’.
During the Monsoon Session of the Parliament, BJP's Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Bansal had demanded the usage of only ‘Bharat’ and removing ‘India’, while describing ‘India’ as a symbol of colonial slavery.
So the news is indeed true.
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 5, 2023
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'.
Now, Article 1 in the Constitution can read: “Bharat, that was India, shall be a Union of States.”…