Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath continues his exercise to rename places and projects after BJP ideologues as he on Friday announced that Kanpur’s Chakeri airport would be named after Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, a well-known journalist and activist.
Mr Yogi, who visited Kanpur on Thursday, decided to name the Panki railway station as Panki Dham railway station, after the famous Hanuman temple in Panki. Earlier, he had decided to rename the civilian terminal of the Indian Air Force (IAF) airport in Gorakhpur after Mahayogi Gorakhnath, the founder of the influential Nath monastic movement. The government has also proposed to rename the IAF’s Agra airport after BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. The state government has already been in a controversy when it decided to rename the Mughalsarai railway station as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station. Mughalsarai is one of the busiest railway stations on the Eastern Railway network and the BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya had died while travelling in a train near Mughalsarai in 1968. He was the former president of the Bhartiya Jan Sangh, the parent organisation of the BJP.
The Congress has been demanding that the railway station should be named after former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
Also, the newly elected chief minister removed the word ‘Samajwadi’ from a slew of government schemes including ambulance services, welfare schemes.
“All the proposals for changing names of railway stations and airports would be sent to the centre for the final seal of approval,” said a senior official.
As the state’s former chief minister, Ms Mayawati, had renamed eight districts after Dalit ideologues. During her tenure, Amethi became Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar, Sambhal became Bhim Nagar, Hathras became Mahamaya Nagar, Shamli was named as Prabudh Nagar, Khalilabad became Sant Kabir Nagar, Bhadohi became Sant Ravidas Nagar, Kasganj was named as Kanshi Ram Nagar and Amroha was Jyotiba Phule Nagar. Following this, Akhilesh Yadav came to power in SP government and immediately got the names changed back.
King George’s Medical University (KGMU) that has been changed thrice by BSP government to Chhatrapati Shahuji Medical University (CSMU) and then reverted back to its original name after the BSP went out of power.
