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:
“The renaming of Allahabad as Prayagraj before Kumbh came for approval in the meeting and I am happy to say Allahabad will now be known as Prayagraj.”Siddharth Nath Singh as quoted by PTI
"Rig Veda, Mahabharat and Ramayana also mention Prayagraj (for Allahabad)," he noted.
“The people of entire Allahabad, the sages and seers wanted that Allahabad should be known as Prayagraj. Two days back, when the chief minister had chaired a meeting pertaining to Kumbh there, he had himself mooted that Allahabad should be called Prayagraj. All the sages and seers had given their unanimous approval for the same.”
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:
“It might be the wish of many people that Allahabad be renamed as Prayagraj. I think that it will give a very good message. If everyone agrees, we should know this city as Prayagraj and it can be a good start.”
The chief minister said Governor Ram Naik had given his consent to the proposal.
Congress Up in Arms, BJP Welcomes Announcement
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.
Singh reportedly added that should the city’s name change, then the Allahabad University would also lose its identity.
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:
“Akbar ki nishani ko mita kar pauranik naam dena shreyaskar hai. (To remove the sign of Akbar and give a historical name is good).”
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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