Criticising the Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) for changing the name of the Atal Apartments scheme to Sahir Ludhianvi Apartments, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders staged a symbolic protest near the foundation stone of the Atal Apartments project in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar on Thursday. Holding placards in their hands, the leaders termed the move to change the name a political vendetta.
BJP leader Vineet Pal Singh Monga said the Atal Apartments scheme was launched in 2011 and the foundation stone was laid by the then local bodies minister Tikshan Sood. The scheme has been dropped twice by the department in the last 10 years and now it has been relaunched by changing the name.
“We are not against naming any place in the name of Sahir Ludhianvi, but the name of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee should not be removed. If LIT Apartments in B block, SBS Nagar, can be named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, then why not the apartments in Karnail Singh Nagar be named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” said Monga.
He said they had also written to deputy commission Varinder Sharma and local bodies minister Brahm Mohindra and they would be forced to start an agitation if the apartments were not named after Vajpayee.
Despite attempts, LIT chairman Raman Balasubramaniam could not be reached for comments. However, he had earlier said the name had been changed to pay tribute to legendary poet Sahir Ludhianvi and there was no political vendetta behind the move. He said the Atal Apartments scheme had been dropped and the design of the apartment had also been changed.
{{/usCountry}}Despite attempts, LIT chairman Raman Balasubramaniam could not be reached for comments. However, he had earlier said the name had been changed to pay tribute to legendary poet Sahir Ludhianvi and there was no political vendetta behind the move. He said the Atal Apartments scheme had been dropped and the design of the apartment had also been changed.
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