What should we call the civic centre?

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress have locked their horns over naming the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) new civic centre for many months now.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition Congress have locked their horns over naming the Municipal Corporation of Delhi's (MCD) new civic centre for many months now.

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And the argument has escalated with the Congress threatening to take the matter to court.

During an MCD House meeting on Tuesday, the Congress demanded that the ruling BJP withdraw its resolution to name the centre after Jan Sangha founder Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. The opposition wants the centre to be called either the ‘New Town Hall’ or the ‘New Civic Centre’.

Former Mayor Farhad Suri and Leader of Opposition Jai Kishan Sharma said as per the provisions of the Delhi Municipal Act (DMC), the civic body only has the jurisdiction to name or rename roads, streets, parks, etc., and not civic buildings.

“Across the world no municipal buildings are named after political leaders. The BJP should let the building be called the civic centre or the new town hall,” Sharma said.

The Congress had earlier suggested that the civic centre be named after Mahatma Gandhi instead.

The Opposition is enraged since earlier this month L-G Tejendra Khanna had shot down the suggestions of both the parties and had suggested that “such an iconic building should not be named after any individual”.

“The BJP are simply misusing their power. They have even disregarded the suggestion of the L-G, who is our administrator. They have not consulted anybody on the issue,” Sharma alleged.

The BJP refuted the allegations and said they will not change their decision. Last week Arya had confirmed that the MCD naming committee had passed a resolution to rename the centre.