Akbar the Great may have ruled over most of the sub-continent but the Mughal emperor is in danger of losing an iconic road in his name in the heart of Delhi.
While the Central leadership of the BJP is divided on the matter, the party’s top appointee in the New Delhi Municipal Council said on Wednesday that he was in favour of renaming the road Maharana Pratap Road.
“The name of Akbar Road should be changed in honour of Maharana Pratap. I will move a proposal to this effect in the next meeting of the council,” Karan Singh Tanwar, the NDMC vice-chairperson and former BJP MLA, told The Hindu .
He said the NDMC was “empowered” to take the decision, and did not need any approval from the government. “But, I will consult the party high command before giving the proposal,” said Mr. Tanwar.
If the proposal is passed, Akbar may end up like his great-grandson Aurangzeb. The NDMC had in August 2015 changed the name of Aurangzeb Road to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Road, in honour of the former President who passed away last July. This was after several proposals and demands from right-wing Hindu groups that had wanted to remove the name of the Mughal emperor.
Officials of the NDMC maintained that there was no plan to change Akbar Road’s name.
Meanwhile, the BJP’s Central leadership and Ministers couldn’t seem to agree on the issue. Former Army chief and Minister of State for External Affairs General V.K. Singh wrote to Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu earlier this week asking for the road to be renamed in honour of “this great son of India”.
Mr. Naidu, however, made it clear on Wednesday that the Centre was not getting involved.
‘Not on govt. agenda’ “The naming and renaming of streets is not the UD Ministry’s subject matter. It is not on the government’s agenda. The government’s focus is only development,” he told reporters.
Shaina N.C., an official spokesperson of the BJP, however, came out in support of the change.
>#AkbarRoad should be renamed to Maharana >#Pratap Marg. Imagine >#Hitler Road in >#Israel ! No country honours its oppressors like we do!!
— ShainaNC (@ShainaNC) >May 18, 2016
