PM Modi’s official visit to Indonesia to attend the ASEAN-India summit refers to him as Bharat’s PM
| Criticism by Congress |
(ASEAN is Southeast Asian countries conference)
(Credit – DD News, Jagran)
New Delhi – Prime Minister Narendra Modi left for Indonesia on 6th September 2023 to participate in ASEAN-India Summit. The Government’s official invitation for the dinner to all the Heads of the countries participating in the G20 summit read ‘President of Bharat’ invites. On the invitation card too, the word Bharat is used instead of India, which stirred a row in the country, and now, the Bharat word is used even in the official information about the PM’s visit, again leading to criticism by the opposition parties. An official invitation has been shared by BJP’s Spokesperson Sambit Patra on X about the PM’s visit, where he is referred to as ‘Bharat’s Prime Minister’. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has shared the same invitation with a remark ‘See, how confused is Modi Government ! The programme’s name is the 20th ‘ASEAN-India’ summit, in which Bharat’s Prime Minister is going to participate. All this farce is due to the unity exhibited by the opposition parties.’
ASEAN countries
ASEAN countries include Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Laos, and Singapore. Bharat has been invited to attend this summit.
What will be Bharat’s role in the ASEAN summit ?
PM Narendra Modi will discuss issues related to trade and maritime security during his Indonesia visit. An announcement is likely to be made during this summit for starting ‘The UPI (Unified Payment Interface – online transactions)’ service among the ASEAN countries. This summit is being held from 5th to 8th September 2023 and PM Modi will participate in it on two days, i.e., 6th and 7th September 2023. Earlier in 2019, PM Modi had attended this summit. Now, even Kamala Harris, the US Vice President, China’s PM Li Qiang, and Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will be participating in the summit.
The relationship between China and ASEAN countries is strained
Recently, the Chinese army attacked a Philippine ship in the South China Sea. USA accused China of creating tension in the area and encroaching upon other’s land. There is a dispute over the South China Sea among ASEAN countries and China. ASEAN countries seek help from the USA and Bharat to fight China. These countries’ economic dependence on China had increased in the decade of 1990 due to their financial crisis, and China was in a strong financial position. ASEAN, therefore, started free trade with China, but as China started taking advantage of the situation, these countries strengthened their ties with USA and Bharat, making them their dialogue partners.
| Editorial Viewpoint
This country has been known as Bharat since thousands of years. Why should Congress have a problem if the PM is referring to it as Bharat ? How should it matter to Congress if the present Government is consciously avoiding the word ‘India’ ? |