India vs Bharat row: Omar Abdullah slams Centre over India name change controversy
India vs Bharat row: G20 dinner official invitations in the name 'President of Bharat' instead of the usual 'President of India' stirred a huge controversy across nation, raised eyebrows of several leaders and politicians and ignited a public debate among political parties ahead of the G20 Summit in Delhi which is scheduled to take place for September 9th and 10th, 2023 and will be joined by representatives of member nations as well as guest nations.
As the India vs Bharat controversy erupted nationwide, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Friday challenged the Centre to ‘change’ the Constitution first if they have ‘guts’.
Omar Abdullah said nobody will support the union government if it will change the Constitution to rename the country.
"Nobody can change it... It is not so easy to change the name of the country. To do this, you will have to change the Constitution of the country. If you have the guts, then do it, we will also see who supports you...," Omar Abdullah said.
“It is unfortunate that we had to fight for the thing that was our right as a political party. Election guidelines are very clear about the allocation of the symbol. Clearly, the administration and Ladakh had a biased agenda which is why they went all the way to the Supreme Court. But if you read the verdict, particularly the detailed judgement and the imposition of Rs 1 lakh on Ladakh administration is itself an indication how seriously the court viewed the conduct of Ladakh government,” the NC leader said.
Speculations have gained ground that the Centre might change the name of the country to Bharat from India after Rashtrapati Bhawan sent out invitations for a G20 dinner on September 9 on behalf of the 'President of Bharat'.
According to the notification, the process for filing nominations will start on September 9 and the last date for filing nominations is September 16. The last date for withdrawing nominations has been fixed on September 20.
The counting of votes will take place on October 8.
The notification further said that the entire election process should be completed before October 11.
Notably, this is the first time that the government has used the 'Republic of Bharat' instead of India on an official invitation.
Also Read: Controversy erupts as G20 invitations address 'President of Bharat'; Opposition takes on BJP
Meanwhile, a government booklet on PM Modi’s upcoming visit to Indonesia for the ASEAN-India Summit also refers to him as the Prime Minister of Bharat.
The move stirred a huge controversy as leaders from Congress and other parties have strongly opposed it, while the ruling dispensation has welcomed the decision.