BJP MLA Sangeet Som demands renaming of Muzaffarnagar as Laxminagar

Firebrand BJP leader Sangeet Som has demanded that Muzaffarnagar be renamed as Laxminagar, joining the ranks of right wing leaders who have made similar demands after Uttar Pradesh chief minister rechristened Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj.

The Sardhana MLA, who is an accused in the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, said it was a long pending demand of the locals.

He claimed that the original name of the city was Laxminagar and a nawab named Muzaffar Ali had named it after himself in 1633. Referring to the changed names of Allahabad and Faizabad to Prayagraj and Ayodhya, Som demanded that Muzaffarnagar be given “its original name Laxminagar”.

Terming it need of the time, Som accused the Mughals of ruining the culture of ‘Bharat’ during their rule and said they deliberately changed the name of many Hindu places and destroyed temples.

BJP district president Sudhir Saini supported the demand and said Laxminagar was a more appropriate name for the district as it was the centre of agriculture activities with good per capita income.

He said a Hindu Sammelan convened here in 1982 was also held under the name of Laxminagar, showing it was a long pending demand which should be fulfilled now.

After Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath renamed Faizabad as Ayodhya and Allahabad as Prayagraj, right wing organisations have demanded for a number of cities that bear a connection to erstwhile Muslim rulers, and the list includes Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, Telangana’s Hyderabad, UP’s Agra and Aligarh, and Maharashtra’s Aurangabad and Osmanabad.

Samajwadi Party’s former district president of Muzaffarnagar, Sahendra Saini questioned how such demands could resolve the problems of the people. He accused the BJP of trying to divert people’s attention from issues of inflation, poor economic condition and deteriorating law and order through such gimmicks.

First Published: Nov 10, 2018 08:38 IST