Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Maurya on Thursday demanded that Aligarh be renamed as Harigarh, while drawing parallels with cities such as Ayodhya and Prayagraj.
“You all know Ayodhya was once called Faizabad. But under the leadership of our respected Chief Minister (Adityanath), it was renamed Ayodhya again. Similarly, Prayagraj was earlier known as Allahabad. Just two days ago, Shahjahanpur’s Jalalabad was renamed Parshurampuri. Then there should be no delay in renaming Aligarh to Harigarh,” news agency PTI quoted Maurya as saying.
The Deputy Chief Minister was speaking during the ‘Hindu Gaurav Diwas’ ceremony, observed on the death anniversary of former UP Chief Minister Kalyan Singh. He also demanded a ‘Bharat Ratna’ for the leader.
On August 18, BJP MLA Ketki Singh demanded that Ghazipur be renamed after Seer Parshuram’s father, Mahrishi Gautam. The lawmaker said she has written a letter to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in this regard.
According to PTI, Singh said that such names should be removed as it reminds people of their times of disgrace as it glorifies invaders. While talking to media persons , she said, “I want the Ghazipur district’s name to be changed.”
“Changing the name will inspire the coming generation. How can a country that forgets its history build its future? If you forget your origin, you will never be able to build a future,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.
