After BJP Lok Sabha member Sangam Lal Gupta urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename the state capital Lucknow to Lakhanpur or Laxmanpur, the politics of district names in Uttar Pradesh gained traction, and new demands emerged.
Om Prakash Rajbhar, chief of the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), has urged the state government to rename Ghazipur district Vishwamitra Nagar in honour of Maharishi Vishwamitra and Bahraich district Maharaja Suldev Rajbhar Nagar.
“Honourable Chief Minister, Government of Uttar Pradesh, please see the attached application of Mr. Shakti Singh, National Secretary, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party, where he mentioned the unique role of Vishwamitra in district-Ghazipur, and requested to change the name of Ghazipur to Vishwamitra Nagar,” Mr. Rajbhar wrote in his letter to Mr. Adityanath. As a result, you are requested to kindly order that the name of District-Ghazipur be changed to Vishwamitra Nagar in light of the facts stated in the attached application.” In a similar letter, the SBSP chief demanded that the Bahraich district be renamed Maharaja Suldev Rajbhar Nagar.
UP Deputy CM on renaming of Lucknow
On the demand by Mr. Gupta to rename Lucknow, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak on Wednesday told mediapersons that it was well known that Lucknow was earlier known as ‘Laxman Nagri’ and that the State government would move forward “according to the situation and let you know”.
In his letter, Mr. Gupta said, “Lord Ram had gifted Lucknow to Lakshman ji and had since been named after him as ‘Lakhanpur’ or ‘Lakshmanpur’ but in 18th century, the then Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula renamed it as Lucknow and that’s how it is known since. This symbol of slavery must be removed now that the country has entered Amrit Kaal.”
Last year, while welcoming the Prime Minister to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also mentioned Lakshman and Lucknow. “Warm welcome to Lucknow, the land of Lord Lakshman,” he tweeted as he welcomed the PM.