BJP should change names of its Muslim leaders: Yogi's minister

November 11, 2018 16:08

A disgruntled Om Prakash Rajbhar, a minister in the Uttar Pradesh government and the chief of Bharatiya Janata Party ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, has mocked the saffron party over its renaming spree and suggested it to change the names of its three prominent Muslim leaders.

"The BJP says that the cities were named after Mughals. In the the BJP, there is Shahnawaz Hussain, who is the national spokesperson; Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, who is a Union Cabinet minister; and, in UP, there is Mohsin Raza, who is minister of state in the Yogi Adityanath government. First, the names of these three persons should be changed," Rajbhar purportedly said in a video, which went viral on social media.

"The GT Road, which was built by a Muslim king, should be uprooted. After all, it was built by Sher Shah Suri. Why do you allow people to use that road? Similarly, the Red Fort in Delhi and Taj Mahal. Who built them?" asked Rajbhar, who heads the Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that Faizabad district would henceforth be known as Ayodhya. He also proposed setting up of a new airport, named after Lord Ram, and a medical college in the name of King Dasharath, father of Ram, in the district.

Last month, the state Cabinet had adopted a proposal to rename the historic city of Allahabad as Prayagraj.

When contacted by PTI on Sunday, Rajbhar said: "There is no point in renaming the districts of the state. The work which was done by the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, the same is being repeated by the BJP. There is nothing new in it."

However, UP BJP spokesperson Manish Shukla said though Rajbhar was entitled to have his views as a minister, but should refrain from making such remarks.

"Faizabad and Allahabad were renamed as Ayodhya and Prayagraj respectively as per the sanctity of these places. It was only a corrective action, as centuries ago invaders with polluted mentality had changed the names of these places," the spokesperson claimed. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

TMC accuses BJP of staging Sandeshkhali, cites video

The TMC released a video, in which a man, claimed to be a BJP mandal president in Sandeshkhali, was heard saying that leader of the opposition in the West Bengal assembly "Suvendu Adhikari is behind the whole conspiracy".

5 soldiers injured as terrorists attack vehicles in J-K

The attack took place near Shashidhar in the evening when the vehicles were moving towards Sanai Top in the district's Surankote area.

JD-S MLA HD Revanna taken into custody by SIT

The case was registered against Revanna, a former Minister and son of JD-S patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and his confidant Sathish Babanna in Mysuru on Thursday night for allegedly abducting a woman.

EPL PIX: Arsenal stay in title hunt with home win

IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.

Supriya Sule vs Sunetra Pawar: Which Pawar will Baramati voters choose

Though the contest is tough in Baramati, Sule has an edge over her rival as the locals may not break the pattern that she is meant for the Lok Sabha and Ajit Pawar for the state assembly, the political analyst felt.