Nizamabad name is inauspicious, must be changed: BJP MP

Claiming that the name Nizamabad was 'inauspicious', BJP MP D Arvind on Tuesday said the Telangana city, represented by him in the Lok Sabha, should be renamed "Indur", as it was known earlier.

Arvind, who defeated ruling TRS nominee and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha in the April Lok Sabha polls in Nizamabad, also said people of the constituency wanted the name change.

It was needed as both the city and the district named after erstwhile ruler "Nizam" of Hyderabad has 'failed' to fare well in all aspects, the MP told PTI, a day after raising the demand at an event in Nizamabad.

This name (Nizamabad) has become very inauspicious and people's sentiment is what I expressed. Indur has the name of Hindustan and it starts with 'Ind' like in India. It is auspicious and also nationalistic name," he said.

According to the official website of the district, Nizamabad, about 175 km from here, derived its name as Nizamabad (Nizam-a-Abadi) from the Nizam of Hyderabad Asaf Jahi, VI, who had ruled Deccan during the 18th Century A.D. Originally the district was called INDUR, known to have originated in the name of king Indradatta who had ruled this region during 5th Century A.D.

Arvind said: "People are demanding that it should be renamed as Indur now. I told the people we will try to change. Of course, I am for it and I am for the change of name, he added. He is the second BJP leader in the state to advocate name change of cities.

Earlier, Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh has demanded that Hyderabad's name be changed to Bhagyanagar. During the campaigning for assembly elections in December last year, Singh, the lone BJP member to have emerged victorious in the hustings, had said if his party was voted to power, it would rename Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar.

Citing some instances in support of the claim that name Nizamabad was inauspicious, Arvind said Nizam Sugars did not do well and it never had sufficient water. This is the feeling among the people that even the farm sector is not doing well (due to the name).

We normally change names when we feel it is not auspicious. So we have to respect people's sentiments, he argued.

When contacted, senior Congress leader Madhu Goud Yaskhi, a two-time MP from Nizamabad, said Arvind should focus on fulfilling poll promises rather taking up name changes. "He (Arvind)should first get Turmeric Board to Nizamabad as promised to the farmers during his poll campaign rather than looking to change the name (of Nizamabad)," Yashki said.