Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh on Monday renamed eight districts which had been earlier named by Mayawati, leaving the BSP supremo fuming.
The decision to change the names was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar will be known as Amethi, while Rambai Nagar will be called Kanpur Dehat. The names of Bheem Nagar, Prabuddha Nagar and Panchseel Nagar have been changed to Sambhal, Shamli and Hapur respectively.
Similarly, Kanshiram Nagar, Mahamaya Nagar and JP Nagar will be known as Kasganj, Hathras and Amroha respectively.
The cabinet noted that since the names created confusion, people and public representatives were demanding restoration of old names.
The name of the 105-year-old King George’s Medical University (KGMU), which was changed to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University during the BSP regime, was also restored. The alumni of KGMU are working in the US, Canada, Australia and England and know the university by its old name.
Reacting to the development, Mayawati accused the ruling SP of changing “with an ill will” the nomenclatures of districts named after saints, gurus and dalit icons during her regime.
“New districts were created during BSP regime and named after dalit and OBC icons so that they always remain a source of inspiration for the society,” the former chief minister said in a statement.
“The decision of the SP government is very painful and condemnable. I think that (by doing so) SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav and his Chief Minister son Akhilesh have got their names written in black letters in the pages of history,” she added.
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