‘Oppn bloc calling itself BHARAT might…’: Shashi Tharoor's sarcastic jibe at PM Modi govt

livemint.com:

Narendra Modi-led 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 is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name.

Notably, on Wednesday, the invite from Prime Minister Narendra Modi for G20 Summit was also published, wherein he was referred to as ‘Prime Minister of Bharat’, instead of Prime Minister of India. The Congress MP also claimed it was Pakistan's founder Mohammad 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".

Tharoor said, "While the subject is live, let's recall that it was Jinnah who objected to the name 'India' since it implied that our country was the successor state to the British Raj and Pakistan a seceding state. As with CAA, the BJP govt keeps supporting Jinnah's view!" In a post on X (former Twitter), 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 Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). Shashi Tharoor's response to the mention of Bharat in official