India has incalculable brand value built over centuries: Shashi Tharoor

With a G20 dinner invite in the name of 'President of Bharat' going viral, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor Tuesday said while there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', he hopes the government will not be so foolish to completely dispense with 'India' which has incalculable brand value.

The Congress has alleged that the "Union of States" is under assault by the Narendra Modi government as it claimed that a G20 dinner invite refers to the President as "President of Bharat".

In a post on X, Tharoor, the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said 'Bharat' is one of the country's two official names.

"While there is no constitutional objection to calling India 'Bharat', which is one of the country's two official names, I hope the government will not be so foolish as to completely dispense with 'India', which has incalculable brand value built up over centuries," he said.

"We should continue to use both words rather than relinquish our claim to a name redolent of history, a name that is recognised around the world," Tharoor said.

The G20 Summit will held in the national capital from September 9 to 10 under India's presidency and several heads of state from across the world, including US President Joe Biden, are attending the event.