Varanasi, Jul 29 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that the Bhadohi district would once again be renamed Sant Ravidas Nagar, as the ruling BJP kicked off a Dalit outreach initiative from the prime minister’s constituency Varanasi on Wednesday.
The CM said the move coincides with the 650th birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas and reflects the government’s commitment to honouring social reformers and saints.
Addressing the launch of the BJP’s ‘Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan’ in Varanasi, Adityanath said the district, earlier known as Sant Ravidas Nagar, would regain its previous name.
Bhadohi was earlier part of the Varanasi district. It was named after the saint but rechristened in its present name in December 2014 during the Samajwadi Party regime.
“On the occasion of Sant Ravidas’ 650th birth anniversary, Bhadohi will once again be known as Sant Ravidas Nagar. We will complete this work,” Adityanath announced.
The chief minister said naming public institutions and places after great social reformers is a way of uniting society, unlike those who seek to divide people.
“Those whose ideals are Babur and Aurangzeb will never accept this because they divide society. Those who unite people name places after great personalities,” he said.
Adityanath also accused the opposition of dividing society, saying “baatne aur kaatne ka kaam karenge”.
The UP government had on December 6, 2014 announced that the Sant Ravidas Nagar district in the state would be renamed Bhadohi. The decision was taken during a meeting of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
“The decision to rename the district was taken on the recommendation of the district magistrate,” an official spokesman had said in Lucknow.
Citing examples, Adityanath said the airport at Jalandhar had been named after Sant Ravidas, while Ayodhya’s international airport bears the name of Maharishi Valmiki. He also referred to facilities in Ayodhya named after Mata Shabari and Nishad Raj.
Targeting the Samajwadi Party, Adityanath alleged that its government had changed the name of a medical college named after B R Ambedkar in the Kannauj district.
“When Asim Arun (minister and Kannauj MLA) informed me that the Samajwadi Party had changed the name of the medical college named after Babasaheb Ambedkar, I asked him to send a proposal and we restored the name of Kannauj Medical College in Babasaheb’s honour,” he said.
He also said his government had named the medical college in Auraiya after Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar.
Adityanath also announced that the state government would install protective canopies over statues of Sant Ravidas, Maharishi Valmiki, B R Ambedkar and other icons associated with social justice wherever such statues are located in public places without adequate protection.
The event, organised by the BJP’s Scheduled Caste Morcha, marked the launch of the ‘Samrasta Sankalp Abhiyan’, which the party is projecting as an outreach initiative ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Union ministers Arjun Ram Meghwal and Pankaj Chaudhary, Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak, BJP Scheduled Caste Morcha national president Lal Singh Arya, and several state ministers attended the programme.
The CM also announced a series of welfare initiatives in the name of social reformers, saying parks dedicated to Ambedkar would be developed and boundary walls constructed wherever such memorials lack protection.
Adityanath said the government had taken unprecedented steps for the welfare of construction workers and their families by establishing 18 Atal Residential Schools at all divisional headquarters to provide modern education to their children.
He said the government would establish one residential school dedicated to Sant Ravidas in every district while expanding its network of Chief Minister Composite Schools.
He said schemes for the development of slum areas would be dedicated to Sant Ravidas and Maharishi Valmiki. He added that leather parks being revived in the state would be named after Sant Ravidas, while upcoming textile projects would be dedicated to Sant Kabir Das. PTI KIS MNK MNK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.