NEW DELHI: Shashi Tharoor, a prominent member of the Congress party, put forth a suggestion on Wednesday regarding the opposition coalition, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). He recommended naming it 'BHARAT,' signifying an alliance focused on "Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow." Tharoor's proposal aims to discourage the ruling BJP from engaging in the frivolous practice of name changes.

Tharoor made these remarks in the midst of an acrimonious exchange of words between the BJP and the Congress. The controversy arose when the Rashtrapati Bhawan issued invitations for the G20 dinner scheduled for September 9, addressing it as the 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India.'

Expressing his idea on X, Tharoor stated, "We could certainly adopt the name Alliance for Betterment, Harmony And Responsible Advancement for Tomorrow (BHARAT). This might dissuade the ruling party from persisting with their superficial game of altering names."

During the second meeting of the coalition in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on July 17 and 18, the Congress-led opposition parties had originally referred to their alliance as INDIA.

Previously, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had criticized the INDIA alliance, pointing out that even Indian Mujahideen and East India Company had the word 'INDIA' in their names.

Furthermore, in response to the no-confidence motion introduced by the opposition, the Prime Minister remarked on the mutual distrust within the INDIA coalition. He highlighted their desire to gauge support for their proposals within the member parties.

Addressing BJP parliamentary members, the Prime Minister characterized the opposition alliance as 'ghamandia' (marked by arrogance) and commended the party's Rajya Sabha members for their "semi-final" victory in the voting on the Delhi services bill.

Meanwhile, the Congress and other opposition parties retaliated against the BJP for drawing comparisons between INDIA and the East India Company, as well as the banned terrorist group Indian Mujahideen.

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