"First step towards changing Constitution": Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary amid 'India vs Bharat' row

New Delhi: As an invitation sent out to G20 world leaders for a dinner organised at the Rashtrapati Bhavan has caused quite a stir, the Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary has also slammed the Centre over its move and said that this is the first step towards 'changing' the Constitution of the country.

Speaking to ANI, Adhir Ranjan alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is 'scared' of the word India since the Opposition bloc-- the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance was formed.

The Congress leader further said that the government should immediately abandon the President's House if they have a problem with British rule.


"Why did you not say 'Mahamahim of Bharat'; why did you write 'President of Bharat'? I feel that they (BJP) are scared of the word 'India'. Since the INDIA bloc has been formed, PM's hate towards 'INDIA' has increased. If the BJP has so much of a problem with the British rule, they should immediately abandon the Rashtrapati Bhavan because this was the viceroy house earlier," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said on Tuesday.

He also asked the Central government to change the word 'Hindu' too if they want to change everything related to 'outsiders'.

"Will you not say Khelo India, Start-up India and Make in India from now? We do not have any problem with the word 'Bharat'. I just want to suggest that they (the BJP) should change the word Hindu first because it was also given by foreigners and the word India was derived from it. Don't try to be revolutionary. All these are the signs to change the Constitution. They want to change the first article of the Constitution that says- India that is Bharat," he added.

The Lok Sabha MP further suggested that the people of the country should decide whether there should be two names for the nation or as many as they want.

"This should not be decided only by a few people. People of the country should be included in the process; they should decide whether they want two names for the country, one or many more," he added.

Notably, this is the first time that the government has used the 'Republic of Bharat' instead of India on an official invitation.

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, however, has stirred a huge controversy as leaders from Congress and other parties have strongly opposed it, while the ruling dispensation has welcomed the decision. The leaders of the INDIA bloc have claimed that the BJP is nervous about the popularity being garnered by the Opposition parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.