The Uttar Pradesh government officially passed a resolution to change the name of Allahabad city to Prayagraj. The decision was taken by the Uttar Pradesh cabinet presided over by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, senior Cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh said:
"Rig Veda, Mahabharat and Ramayana also mention Prayagraj (for Allahabad)," he noted.
An announcement for the change in name was made by CM Yogi on Saturday, 13 October while on a trip to Allahabad. The chief minister had said there was a proposal to rename the city ahead of the 2019 Kumbh Mela.
Speaking to reporters, Yogi had said:
The chief minister said Governor Ram Naik had given his consent to the proposal.
Reacting to Saturday’s announcement, Congress spokesperson Onkar Singh said the government should make Prayagraj a new city, and let the name of Allahabad remain as is, reported The Indian Express.
Meanwhile, the BJP welcomed the announcement stating that the name ‘Prayagraj’ would give the city its “age-old identity”, and remove any signs of Akbar and the Mughals.
According to The Indian Express, BJP state spokesperson Manoj Mishra said:
The move to rename Allahabad comes after the state government renamed the Mughalsarai station as Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayaya Junction earlier this year.
(With inputs from PTI)
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