BJP's renaming spree: After Faizabad and Allahabad, these cities could be next

New Delhi: After Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath changed the name of Faizabad to Ayodhya and Allahabad to Prayagraj, Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani said his government is rallying for the renaming of Ahmedabad as Karnavati.

However, the trend of rechristening Indian cities does not end here. Here are some cities whose names are being considered to be changed:

Agra 

BJP legislator Jagan Prasad Garg said that he wants the chief minister to rename Agra as "Agravan".

"This is an old matter. Many years ago, Agra was Agravan. But after the Mughal rule and other regimes, the name kept changing. (The name) Agra has no meaning nor does it generate any feeling. Rather 'Agravan' means something," India Today quoted Garg as saying.

Aurangabad and Osmanabad

This city in Maharashtra might get renamed as Sambhaji Nagar with Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut urging chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to change the names of Aurangabad and Osmanabad. Aurangabad and Osmanabad could be renamed as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively.

Shimla 

The BJP government in Himachal Pradesh was considering changing the name of the popular tourist place Shimla to Shyamala. However, the idea got scrapped, following vehement opposition from the residents.

The opposition parties have criticised the renaming spree of the BJP. 

"You choose a government to be a game changer. This government came (to power) on the promise of game-changing but it's only 'name changing'. Why not change names of every city, town, street at one go? They are not paying attention to issues like poverty, women's safety, and the rights of the scheduled castes and tribes,” said Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Manoj Jha.

Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav also said that “today’s rulers” are trying to fool people by projecting as if they working by just changing the name of Allahabad.

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