Ahead of the much-anticipated G20 summit in New Delhi this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi advised his ministers to avoid the political row around the Bharat vs India debate noting that the term 'Bharat' has been the country's ancient name. He however, asked his ministers to strongly refute opposition leaders on their controversial comments on Sanatan Dharma and "expose them".
The renaming controversy erupted after official invitations for the G20 summit dinner described Droupadi Murmu's position as 'President of Bharat', replacing the customary 'President of India', raising questions on whether the Narendra Modi government is planning to drop India and stay with just Bharat as the country's name. While opposition ministers accused the government of violating the Constitution, PM Modi has advised his ministers to avoid joining the debate, as per PTI.
Modi spoke on these issues during his interaction with the Union Council of Ministers in which he laid down the dos and don'ts to be observed by them during the upcoming G20 summit.
Sanatan Dharma controversy
Modi further spoke on the political row surrounding DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin's remarks wherein he blamed Sanatan Dharma for promoting division and discrimination among people and said it should be eradicated. Modi said parties and leaders behind such statements should be exposed and the truth brought before people.
A source told PTI that the prime minister spoke positively of Sanatan Dharma's endurance over the millennia and asked ministers to strongly refute the suggestions made by opposition leaders. The DMK leader had claimed that Sanatan's practices involve dividing people based on their caste, a regressive approach that contradicts the ideals of equality and social justice and drew a parallel between this ideology and diseases like "dengue, malaria, and COVID-19," emphasizing the need for its elimination.
While Stalin has been booked for his call to eradicate Sanatan Dharma, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge has been booked for backing his remark.
The 'advise' from the Prime Minister comes close on the heels of elaborate preparations for the G20 summit which India is hosting in New Delhi on September 9 and 10. Ministers have also been told to let designated people speak on various matters pertaining to G20 issues and avoid speaking out of turn.
