Names of 8 UP districts changed
Army Chief Gen. Bikram Singh salutes President Pratibha Devisingh Patil as Chief of Naval Staff Nirmal Kumar Verma (left) and Ma
What BSP proposes, SP disposes.
The Akhilesh Yadav government on Monday changed the names of eight districts that had been christened by the previous Mayawati government.
The districts, created during the Mayawati regime between 2007 and 2011, had mostly been named after dalit icons.
At a Cabinet meeting held here on Monday, the state government decided to restore the original names of the districts.
According to the government spokesman, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, formerly known as Amethi, will now be known as Gauriganj district. The parliamentary constituency will continue to be known as Amethi.
Panchsheel Nagar will revert to its original name Hapur while Jyotiba Phula Nagar will now be known as Amroha and Mahamaya Nagar will be known as Hathras. Incidentally the name of Hathras has been changed more than a dozen times — thrice in the Kalyan Singh regime.
The newly-created Kanshi Ram Nagar will now be known as Kasganj, Ramabai Nagar will revert to Kanpur Dehat, Prabudhh Nagar will be known as Shamli and Bhim Nagar will be known as Behjoi. The state Cabinet, on Monday, also restored the original name of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University — earlier known as King George’s Medical University. The alumni of this institution — known worldwide as Georgians — had been protesting against the university being named after Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj because they risked losing their identity as Georgians.
Meanwhile, the BSP reacted strongly to the government’s decision to change the names of districts and Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya told reporters that the decision was a result of “political vendetta” and reflected the Samajwadi Party’s lack of respect for dalit icons. He said that this was an act of cheap popularity and the BSP would respond at the appropriate time. “The people are taking note of such decisions which will benefit no one,” he said.
BSP president Mayawati, later in a statement, accused ruling SP of changing “with an ill-will” the nomenclatures of districts named after saints, gurus and dalit icons during her regime.
Post new comment