‘President of Bharat’ row: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan asks why there is ‘so much fear of the word India’

The use of “the President of Bharat”, instead of the President of India, in the invitation to leaders of the countries participating in the G20 summit is a precursor to such a constitutional amendment, he said, adding that it was against the very essence of the Constitution.

Vijayan asked why there was some much fear of the word ‘India’, given that children are brought up with the thought that “India is my country and all Indians are my brothers and sisters”. “This should be seen as a deliberate move to erase even the nationalism of ‘India is my country; all Indians are my brothers and sisters’, which children are taught from school level. The move should be seen as a concerted attempt to erase this thought about the country from the minds,” he said.

Vijayan said no political move should be against the country, adding that the central government should not change the country’s name as such a move would be anti-democratic and anti-constitutional.