'Welcome to Madhavpuram', Announces BJP as it Renames South Delhi's Muhammadpur

The Delhi BJP on Wednesday announced that South Delhi’s Muhammadpur village had been renamed ‘Madhavpuram’ citing that local residents did not want to associate with any “symbol of slavery”. The saffron party said the name of the village was changed after a renaming proposal was passed in the civic body, with the process now completed.

The party further said the AAP-ruled government in Delhi had not acted on the proposal by the BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) since December. Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, along with senior party leaders put up a board with the words ‘Welcome to Madhavpuram’ at the entrance to Muhammadpur village. Gupta posed with workers and local residents in front of the freshly painted board that welcomed visitors.

Gupta said the process to change the name was taken forward by local residents and BJP workers after a proposal by the local councillor was passed by the SDMC. After putting up the board, Gupta tweeted and said, “After the proposal for naming Madhavpuram village was passed in the corporation, the process of naming the village was completed today. From now on this village will be known as “Madhavpuram” instead of Mohammadpur. Even after 75 years of independence, no symbol of slavery should be our part, no Delhiite wants it.”

The move came days after Gupta announced that the BJP will be sending a proposal to the Delhi government to rename 40 villages, including Hauz Khas, Begumpur, Sheikh Sarai, as these names were a “symbol of slavery”. Gupta had said the SDMC had sent a proposal to the urban development department to change the name of Muhammadpur village to Madhavpuram on December 9. He alleged that the ruling party was sitting on the issue as it wanted to “please a particular community”.

The BJP has said it will soon send a proposal to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and the Delhi government to change the names of other villages. Party sources said the list of 40 villages includes Humayunpur, Yusuf Sarai, Masoodpur, Jamrudpur, Begumpur, Fatehpur Beri, Hauz Khas, Sheikh Sarai among others.

The development comes even as the ruling AAP has maintained that Delhi has a “state naming authority” for all such matters, and if it receives any such proposals, it will appropriately review them and move forward following due procedure. On receiving the BJP’s proposal to rename at least 40 villages in Delhi, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP had said the BJP did not want the government to function as per due process and was looking for opportunities to start hooliganism.

(With PTI inputs)

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