The Government of India has decided to rename Delhi's Rajpath – extending from the Netaji statue to the Rashtrapati Bhavan – as 'Kartavya Path,' Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakshi Lekhi, said on Wednesday, 7 September.
Addressing a New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) press conference after a special meeting, Lekhi said:
We carried forward colonial mindset after Independence. Rajpath conveys you are taking administrative positions with the idea of doing 'raj'... Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country is celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, and this amrit kaal needs to inspire us to do our duty towards our nation. So, the name of Rajpath has been changed to Kartavya Path.Meenakshi Lekhi
In a tweet ahead of the NDMC convention, the Union Minister said,
Last Friday, the government had announced that PM Modi will likely inaugurate the revamped Central Vista Avenue, stretching from the Vijay Chowk to the India Gate, on 8 September.
Along the Rajpath, red granite walkways spreading 1,10,457 square metres have been constructed, replacing the bajri sand that lined the ground earlier, according to an official document. As many as 987 concrete bollards have been installed and a total of 1,490 manhole covers have been replaced.
On 15 August this year, Modi, during his address from the ramparts of Red Fort had expressed the government's desire to abolish symbols related to the colonial mind-set.
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