Amid name change row, PM Modi represents 'Bharat' at G20 Summit

New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) Amid the debate over the India-Bharat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday delivered his inaugural speech at the G20 Summit representing the 'Bharat' country tag in front of him.

This comes in the backdrop of the name change row.

The country tag in front of Modi read 'Bharat' as he welcomed the world leaders and expressed grief over the Morocco earthquake in his inaugural address to G20 Summit.

Earlier, a controversy erupted after the invite for the G20 dinner from the Rashtrapati Bhawan read 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India' adding fuel to the speculations that the Centre might change the official state title from India to Bharat.

The Opposition has targeted the government, saying it is an attempt to change the name since their coalition name reads INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).

On Friday, while addressing a Press conference in Belgium's Brussels, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spoke on the name change row dubbing it as a “distraction tactics” and said that these are panic reaction, there is a little bit of fear in government and it actually disturbs Prime Minister Narendra Modi very much that he wants to change the name of the country which is “absurd”.

Rahul Gandhi said, “I am happy with the names that we have in the Constitution. ‘India that is Bharat’ works perfectly for me. I think these are panic reactions, there is a little bit of fear in the government and it is a distraction tactic.”

He said that the opposition parties came out with the name INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) for our coalition and it's a fantastic idea as it represents who we are.

“We consider ourselves as the voice of India so the word works very well for us. But it actually disturbs the Prime Minister very much that he wants to change the name of the country which is absurd. But that's what it is,” he said.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday, while addressing a public meeting in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon, said that for 2024, we have formed an alliance and named it INDIA. "As soon as we kept this name, BJP people got panicked. Now, they are saying that the country's name should be ‘Bharat’… it is already there in the Constitution,” Kharge had said.