New Delhi: Sambit Patra, the spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), shared official details on Tuesday regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Indonesia, where he will participate in the 20th ASEAN-India and the 18th East Asia summits. Notably, during this announcement, Prime Minister Modi was referred to as the ‘Prime Minister of Bharat.’
This reference to Prime Minister Modi as the “Prime Minister of Bharat” has raised eyebrows following a recent G20 invitation for a presidential dinner scheduled for September 9, which was extended in the name of the “President of Bharat.” This development has sparked controversy, with opposition parties alleging that the central government may be considering a shift away from the usage of “India” in favour of exclusively using “Bharat” as the country’s name. Customarily, the country is referred to as India in English.
Senior leaders and ministers within the BJP have expressed support for this decision by Rashtrapati Bhavan, with Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar questioning the issue of using “President of Bharat” since the country is also referred to as Bharat.
Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Jakarta has been arranged at the invitation of the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. Both the ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit (EAS) are scheduled to take place on September 7.
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