Bharatiya Janata Party State president K. Surendran, also the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate from the Wayanad Lok Sabha seat, has waded into a controversy by declaring that, if elected, his first priority will be to change the name of Sulthan Bathery town in the district to Ganapathi Vattam.
The power to change the name of a city or a place rests with the respective State governments. The BJP leader first made this statement in an interview recently, where he claimed that he would seek the help of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre for the name change.
Sulthan Bathery reportedly got its name after the 18th Century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan stocked his ammunition and artillery battery in a temple in the locality. Tipu is also learnt to have built a fort there during his invasion of the Malabar region.
Mr. Surendran repeated his statement during a press conference held at Thamarassery on Thursday. He pointed out that the name of the place had been Ganapathi Vattam for long.
“When did Tipu Sultan arrive here? That place has been there even before. There is a temple there dedicated to Lord Ganapati also. We call it Ganapathi Vattam.” The BJP leader is pitted against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of the United Democratic Front (UDF) and Annie Raja of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) here.
Mr. Surendran also claimed that he was not the first one to raise the issue and the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan had highlighted it in 1984. “However, the Congress and the LDF are calling the place Sulthan Bathery, in support of an aggressor. Why do you want to name it after Tipu, who converted many people, looted many temples, and invaded our land?”, he asked.
The CPI(M), Congress, and the Indian Union Muslim League, meanwhile, dismissed Mr. Surendran’s remarks calling it unrealistic and just another ploy during electioneering.
