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Paryavaran Bhawan renamed Deendayal Antyodaya Bhavan
Minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla names her office building after Pandit Deendayal Upadhaya.
Minority affairs minister Najma Heptulla has, through a recommendation she made to the urban affairs ministry, has got the building that houses her ministry renamed from Paryavaran Bhawan to Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan.
The name change was in step with the birth centenary year of Pandit Deendayal Upadhaya, the leader of the ruling BJP’s predecessor Bharatiya Jana Sangh and one of its mentors, a statement from Heptulla’s office said.
The Muslim intelligentsia and political parties have however criticized the decision, saying it would have been appropriate if the building housing the minority affairs ministry had been renamed after a leader from among the six nationally notified communities.
“The building could have been named after freedom fighter Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, what was the problem? This renaming of roads, buildings and institutions is becoming a very political thing under the BJP. We will demand the intervention of the President on this,” said JD(U) leader KC Tyagi, a Rajya Sabha MP.
The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) has said called the decision “unfortunate”. “Was there any paucity of minority leaders, from which ever community, after which the building could have been named? It could have been Mother Teresa or Maulana Azad. After all, it is the minority affairs ministry?” said Masoom Moradabadi, an invitee to AIMPLB.
Tyagi said his party wasn’t against recognizing leaders from various ideologies. “There is no problem if you name 10 new buildings after Maharana Pratap Singh. But preserve India’s heritage. To the BJP, even the most secular Mughal king, Akbar, isn’t tolerable.”
Urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu, in a letter to Heptulla, said his ministry has directed the central public works department to rename the building immediately.
