Opp bloc calling itself BHARAT might stop game of changing names: Tharoor

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday took a swipe at the government over the India-Bharat naming row, saying the opposition bloc could call itself the "Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT)" and then perhaps the ruling party might stop the "fatuous game of changing names".

His remarks came after invitations for a G20 dinner sent out by President Droupadi Murmu, describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India', triggered a massive furore on Tuesday with the Opposition alleging that the Modi government was planning to replace 'India' with 'Bharat' as the country's name.

In a post on X, Tharoor said, "We could of course call ourselves the Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT). Then perhaps the ruling party might stop this fatuous game of changing names." The Congress is a constituent of the Opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA).

On Tuesday, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X, "Mr. Modi can continue to distort history and divide India, that is Bharat, that is a Union of States. But we will not be deterred. After all, what is the objective of INDIA (alliance) parties? It is BHARAT—Bring Harmony, Amity, Reconciliation And Trust. Judega BHARAT. Jeetega INDIA!"

To this, Tharoor had added that while there is no Constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', he hoped the government would not be so "foolish" as to completely dispense with 'India', which has "incalculable brand value".

The Congress MP had also claimed it was Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah who had objected to the name 'India', since it implied that "our country was the successor state to the British Raj and Pakistan a seceding state".