Opposition parties questioned the move of the BJP government. (document)
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's decision, saying the focus should be on improving station conditions and preventing train accidents instead of Change name
As part of Northern Railway's (NR) renaming of eight stations in Uttar Pradesh, Jais station in Amethi district of Nehru-Gandhi Pocket Municipality in Uttar Pradesh will now be renamed as Guru Gorakhnath Dham. The move sparked controversy, with observers calling it “politically motivated”.
Apart from Jais, the NR Lucknow chapter has also changed the names of seven other railway stations, naming them after saints and freedom fighters. As per the NR order dated August 27, Kasimpur Halt Railway Station has been renamed as Jais City Railway Station, Misrauli as Maa Kalikan Dham, Bani as Swami Paramhans while Nihalgarh Railway Station has now been renamed as Maharaja Bijli Pasi Railway Station. Besides, Akbarganj has been renamed as Maa Ahorwa Bhawani Dham, PP Warisganj has been renamed as Amar Shahid Bhale Sultan and Fursatganj has been renamed as Tapeshwarnath Dham.
Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government's decision, saying the focus should be on improving station conditions and preventing train accidents rather than changing name. “The PPP government has also been asked to change the condition and name of the railway station,” he said, adding, “When you have completed changing the name, please consider preventing record-breaking railway accidents”.
However, political observers and social media users in UP termed the move as “politically motivated”. “This is not the first time that a BJP government has changed the name of a station, city or place. In UP, the name of Mughal Sarai city and a railway junction were renamed after BJP ideologue Pt. Deen · Dayal Upadhyay. The name of Allahabad has been changed to Prayagraj, demands have been made to change the name of Faizabad to Saket. There has been a demand to change the name of Aligarh to Harigarh and similarly there has been a demand to change the name of Lucknow to Lakhanpuri.
Pandey said these changes are often made to reach people and ensure they reach the masses.
