New Delhi, March 7 Calling it a 'new beginning', two BJP MPs occupying official bungalows in New Delhi’s Tughlaq Lane on Friday denied any intention to kick up a controversy by putting up nameplates bearing the address 'Swami Vivekanand Marg (Tughlak Lane)'.
Amid allegations of indulging in controversial politics of name-change, the two MPs – Dinesh Sharma and Krishan Pal Gurjar – denied that the move was aimed at hitting headlines but called it a reflection of their and the public’s admiration for Swami Vivekanand.
While Dinesh Sharma’s bungalow bears the address: 6, Swami Vivekanand Marg (Tughlak Lane), Gurjar’s nameplate gives his address as 8, Vivekanand Marg (Tughlak Lane).
Sharma, who had posted a message on social media on Thursday night after organising a prayer and housewarming ceremony after putting up the nameplate, told IANS, “There is nothing controversial. If you search Google Maps, the place is shown as Swami Vivekanand Marg.”
“I have served as a Mayor for 11 years and am aware of the procedure for renaming a road,” said the Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, calling it an expressing of their respect for Swami Vivekanand.
“It is not a ‘Hindu-Muslim’ matter and it should be seen as a new beginning,” he said.
The demand to rechristen roads named after Mughal emperors and commanders is not new. In 2015, Aurangzeb Road, close to Tughlak Lane, was renamed as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) after formal approval from the civic agency’s decision-making body.
In 2015, BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay had sought the renaming of Delhi’s Shahjahan Road as Dashrath Manjhi Road.
Gurjar, a Lok Sabha MP from Faridabad in Haryana, denied allegations of indulging in name-change politics. “This is not name-change politics but a reflection of our respect for Swami Vivekanand,” he said, admitting that there is no official endorsement for the change.
“We want it to be changed officially and for this we would initiate talks with the authorities,” said the MP from Faridabad.
Calling it another new initiative under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said “Thousands of archaic laws were ended by the government. Old conventions will continue but forgetting our role models will also be unjustified.”
Gurjar also dismissed allegations of showing unnecessary haste in changing the name but called it matter of faith in Swami Vivekanand due to which he got the great leader’s name written outside.
He also slammed rival parties for praising Mughal emperor Aurangzeb who mercilessly killed his own brother and did not even spare his father. “Praising such a person is very unfortunate,” he said.
Congress MP Imran Masood said politics of divide and rule was being pursued in the country by spreading hatred. “There are many bigger issues for discussion as compared to road renaming gimmicks,” Masood told IANS.
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