Try changing Red Fort's name first: UP minister Om Prakash Rajbhar challenges Giriraj Singh

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PATNA: Day after senior BJP leader Giriraj Singh sought the renaming of Bihar town Bakhtiyarpur over its Mughal link, Uttar Pradesh cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar challenged him to change Red Fort's name first.

“Jo neta Bihar waale (Giriraj Singh) bayan de rahe hain, wo jis road pe chalte hain usko unke dada banaye hain? GT Road Sher Shah Suri ne banaya hai. Ek nayi sadak bana ke dikha dein, bayan dena alag baat hai. (The leaders from Bihar (Giriraj Singh) are making such statements, were the roads they walk on constructed by their grandfathers?  GT Road was made by Sher Shah Suri. Try building a new road, giving statements is different),” said Rajbhar.

He further added, “Inke paas to koi kaam hai nahin. Ye janta ka dimag bhatkane ke liye ye naam badalne ka ek bahane inka hai. Agar himmat ho to Lal Qila ka naam badal dein. Usko gira dein. (They have no work. This gamut of renaming is nothing but diverting the public's attention. Change Red Fort's name if you have courage. Or demolish it.)

Union minister Giriraj Singh had sought to rename the Bihar town Bakhtiyarpur supposedly named after Afghan military general Bakhityar Khilji, who is said to have invaded and conquered the region nine centuries ago upon the direction of the then Sultan of Delhi Qutbuddin Aibak.

Situated on the outskirts of Patna, Bakhtiyarpur is the place where Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was born and had spent his childhood. 

Singh's comment met with strong disapproval from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's JD(U) which shares power with the BJP in the state, as well as opposition parties like the RJD and the Hindustani Awam Morcha.

Earlier this month, Uttar Pradesh government changed the name of the historic city of Allahabad to Prayagraj.

"I hail Yogi Adityanath for renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj. If somebody captures your house while you are down then there is no reason why you should not reclaim it once you gain some strength. 

"There are hundreds of such places across the country, including in Bihar which need to be changed. Bakhtiyarpur is a case in point,” Singh said.

With agency inputs