The Jhansi Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh will be known as Veerangana Lakshmibai Railway Station, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Wednesday. Rani Laxmibai was among India’s foremost rebel leaders during British rule and was killed in battle with British forces in June 1858 in Gwalior.
UP CM Yogi Adityanath announced the name change in a short tweet, saying the Jhansi Railway Station would be known as Veerangana Laxmibai Railway Station from now.
The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier sent a proposal about renaming the station to the Union Home Ministry. The ministry consents to a name change of any station or place after obtaining no-objections from the Union Ministry of Railways, Survey of India, and the Department of Posts. These organisations confirm that there is no town or village in their records with a name that is similar to the proposed name.
Once the name change is approved following an executive order, the Ministry of Railways will change the station code accordingly.
Earlier, the Union Home Ministry renamed Mughalsarai Railway Station to Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Railway Station following a proposal by the Uttar Pradesh government. Many cities in the BJP-ruled state have also been renamed following Adityanath’s ascent to power in 2017.
Following the announcement, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan tweeted his gratitude to Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the name change was a tribute to the country’s unique culture, values, and heritage.
Chouhan himself had obtained permission from the Centre to rename the Habibganj Railway Station in Bhopal to Rani Kamlapati Railway Station.
On Wednesday, Union Minister for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia paid tributes at the Rani Laxmibai memorial in what was likely the first visit by a member of the erstwhile Gwalior royal family to the site.
The erstwhile Gwalior royal family had refused to support Rani Laxmibai during the rebellion of 1857.
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