Lucknow: Politics of changing name of cities is at its peak in Uttar Pradesh during Yogi’s regime. After Faizabad and Allahabad districts were renamed as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively, three more districts may get new names. While the ruling Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) has been defending it in the name of restoring old glory, the opposition is terming it a futile exercise.
The new entrant in the name game of UP are Aligarh, Ferozabad and Mainpuri districts. The district panchayats of these districts have passed resolutions for changing the name. The Zila Panchayat of Aligarh has passed a resolution of renaming the district as Harigarh. Similarly, the Zila Panchayat of Mainpuri has proposed that the name of district be changed as Mayan Nagar. In Ferozabad, too, the panchayat has passed a resolution for changing the name as Chandranagar.
According to the chairman of Aligarh Zila Panchayat, the meeting of the board held on Monday has unanimously decided on changing the name. He said that the report of the meeting has been sent to the state government requesting it to take a final decision in this regard. It may be mentioned that in the year 1992 then CM of UP, Kalyan Singh too had mooted a proposal of changing the name of Aligarh as Harigarh but the union government had declined it. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) in a meeting held in 2015 had passed a resolution in this regard. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) has been using the name Harigarh instead of Aligarh in its documents.
In Mainpuri also the Zila Panchayat chairman Archana Bhadauria after passing a resolution, has sent report to the state government. She said that in the ancient times this area was known as Mayan Nagar hence we are only restoring it. Earlier, the Ferozabad Zila Panchayat had passed a resolution for renaming the district as Chandra Nagar. The BJP leaders have also been demanding to rename district Gazipur as Gadhipuri. According to state BJP media co-convener Naveen Srivastava, the district is known as the land of Saint Gadhi and hence the name Gazipur should be changed. Several other BJP leaders have advocated for the change of the name of Aligarh, Ferozabad and Mainpuri districts.
However, opposition parties in UP have lambasted the state government for it and said that instead of changing the fate of the poor and unemployed in the state, the BJP is busy in changing the name of district. Congress state media convener Lalan Kumar said that state government should focus on development and resolving farmer’s issues and change of names will not serve any purpose.
