‘Will rename Nizamabad’: Telangana BJP MP sparks row, Congress leader responds with worry over Hyderabad's Charminar
Telangana BJP chief Ramchander Rao said that the proposal to change the name of Telangana’s districts was not limited to just Nizamabad.
Reigniting the political debate over changing the names of districts in Telangana from those given during the Nizam era, the Bharatiya Janata Party's Member of Parliament Dharmapuri Arvind, who represents Nizamabad district, said that if the BJP comes to power in the state, they would change the name of the district to Indur, reported news agency ANI.
On Friday, Arvind said that a resolution to change the name of the district would be adopted in the first general body meeting of the Nizamabad Municipal Corporation before its forwarded to the office of Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, reported Deccan Chronicle. He also appeared confident that the BJP would secure a majority in the upcoming civic body polls in Nizamabad and would secure the post of the mayor.
He claimed that Nizamabad’s original name is Indur and was changed to later owing to a political decision. He said giving the place “its original name” would help in its development, according to the report.
Arvind’s remarks were backed by Telangana BJP chief Ramchander Rao who said that the party firmly stands with its MP. "Our Nizamabad MP has given a statement that if the BJP comes to power, we will change the name of Nizamabad to Indur. The BJP is with him," ANI quoted Rao as saying.
He added that the proposal to change the name of Telangana’s districts was not limited to just Nizamabad but also other areas and alleged that the Nizam era names are reflective of that time’s “tyranny”.
“Not only in Nizamabad, but also in many other places, names have to be changed because the present names reflect the Nizam era's tyranny and remind us of it. Therefore, to erase the Nizam’s tyranny rule and its memories, there are certain towns and cities where names have to be changed,” he said.
Also read: ‘Dream to see hijabi woman as PM,' says Owaisi. BJP suggests a starting point
‘Not correct to create unnecessary issues’
The remarks of the BJP MP did not sit well with senior Congress leader and former MP Hanumanth Rao, who accused Arvind of trying to create a controversy and called the issue of name-changing unnecessary. He said that in the past, Nizamabad had different names but ever since Independence, no government has changed the name of the city.
"At the time of Independence, people from all religions, castes, and creeds fought together for the nation," ANI quoted him as saying. He also said that India is secular and cannot be turned into a Hindu nation.
"It is not correct to create unnecessary issues like this," he remarked.
Hanumanth Rao also warned that such remarks could spark law-and-order problems and urged the Congress’ government in the state to take note of the issue.
“Why will they remove the Nizamabad district name, and why do they want to change it to a Hindu name? This is not correct... the Telangana government should take action. Otherwise, anyone will say tomorrow that Charminar's name should also be removed,” he told ANI.
(With inputs from ANI)
