Row erupts over date of Jhansi coming into existence

JHANSI: Controversy has erupted among a large number of people of the city after a proposal was sent by the Jhansi Nagar Nigam recently citing that Jhansi city came into existence on February 7, 2002, making it (city) only twenty years old.
The news has drawn sharp reaction among the people, many of whom have loaded memes and satirical comments on the social media criticising the blunder.
Leaders of opposition parties have openly criticised the decision, terming it as an insult to the historical city having a long history and the important role it had played during the First War of Independence in 1857. As per the details, on the demand of the state government regarding the date of historic initiation of Jhansi city, the Jhansi Nagar Nigam had constituted a committee to find out a suitable date. When no particular date could be decided through common consensus, the Nagar Nigam officials decided February 7, 2002, the day the Nagar Nigam was formed and sent it to the government. The decision was criticised by the local historians and socialites terming it as misinterpretation with the rich history of the city. Former Union minister in UPA government Pradeep Jain Aditya held a press conference on Sunday in which he alleged that the Nagar Nigam officials are deliberately maligning the historical facts of Jhansi, terming it as an insult to the people of the city.
Mayor Ram Tirath Singhal told TOI, "I had no knowledge about the decision as it was taken without my consent. I have written a letter to the municipal commissioner asking him to cancel the order and reconsider the date by forming a new committee with more members and with a general consent of the people by inviting their views through advertisement".
On the other hand, additional municipal commissioner Mohd Qamar, who headed the previous committee told TOI, "We have worked as per the government order in which it was mentioned that if no decision is taken by consensus regarding history of a city, then date on which Nagar Nigam was formed can be considered".