Union Minister’s Demand to Change Name of Bakhtiyarpur Strongly Opposed by BJP Ally JD(U) in Bihar

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Union minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh. — File photo

BJP leader and Union Minster Giriraj Singh wants to rename Nitish’s town Bhakhtiyarpur and Akbarpur.

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PATNA  — The bug of changing the names of places having Muslim background or are after former rulers of Muslim dynasty in India has now passed on to Union Minister Giriraj Singh after Yogi Adityanath, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh has changed the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj amid all opposition.

Union minister and senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh on Monday has sought to rename Bihar town Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district, according to reports.

Situated on the outskirts of Patna, Bakhtiyarpur is the place where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was born and had spent his childhood.

Giriraj has demanded that Bakhtiyarpur and other towns and cities in Bihar named after Muslim invaders be rechristened, as is being done in the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.

The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, led by Yogi Adityanath, has renamed the Mughalsarai Railway Junction as Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Junction, and recently changed the name of Allahabad city to Prayagraj.

Bakhtiyarpur is believed to be named after Bakhtiyar Khilji, the military general of Qutb-ud-Aibak.

Giriraj Singh is a BJP Lok Sabha member from Bihar’s Nawada constituency, and is a Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.

The minister also wanted the name of Akbarpur in his Lok Sabha constituency of Nawada, so christened after Mughal emperor Akbar, be changed. He, however, did not suggest alternative names for these places, according to the National Herald.

But, the Union Minister’s demand met with strong disapproval from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) which shares power with the BJP in the state, as well as other opposition parties like the RJD and the Hindustani Awam Morcha.

Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal on Monday slammed BJP leader Giriraj Singh for demanding renaming of Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district.

JD(U) is ruling Bihar in alliance with the BJP.

JD(U) spokesperson Sanjay Singh said: “There is no question of change of name of any district or town in Bihar,” reports IANS.

Sanjay Singh, considered close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, dared Giriraj to change the name of Bakhtiyarpur.

“Who is Giriraj Singh to change the name of Bakhtitarpur or any district of Bihar,” RJD leader Bhai Virender said.

(with inouts from IANS)

 

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Clarion India - News, Views and Insights about Indian Muslims, Dalits, Minorities, Women and Other Marginalised and Dispossessed Communities.

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