Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament, Abhishek Banerjee, asserted on Wednesday that the ongoing 'INDIA vs BHARAT' debate has been masterminded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to divert public attention away from critical issues such as communal tensions, border disputes, and unemployment.

The controversy gained momentum when the invitation for the G20 dinner was issued in the name of the President of 'Bharat' instead of India.

"According to TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, the 'INDIA vs BHARAT' debate is nothing more than a distraction orchestrated by the BJP. He urged the government to face the real issues head-on, which include the soaring prices, rampant inflation, communal tensions, unemployment, border disputes, and their repeated rhetoric about the 'Double Engine' and 'Nationalism,'" read a post by the TMC MP on his former Twitter account.

The debate initially sparked after Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan shared, on his former Twitter account, a G20 dinner invitation that referred to Droupadi Murmu as the 'President of Bharat'.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee weighed in on Tuesday, alleging that the nation's history was being rewritten.

The Trinamool Congress leader questioned the Central government, asking why there had been a sudden shift to using 'Bharat' exclusively. She stated, "Today, they (the Central government) changed the name of India. In the invitation card for the G20 Summit dinner, it is mentioned as 'Bharat'... In English, we say 'India' and refer to the 'Indian Constitution,' and in Hindi, we use 'Bharat ka Samvidhan.' We all use the term 'Bharat,' so what is new in this? However, the name 'India' is recognized worldwide... What prompted this abrupt change in the country's name?... History is being rewritten in the country," stated Chief Minister Mamata.

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