Akhilesh slams move to rename Allahabad as 'Prayagraj'

Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav on Monday attacked the Yogi Adityanath government's proposed move to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj, stating that the present dispensation wanted to show their work only by "renaming".

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during his visit to Allahabad on Saturday had announced that there was a proposal to rename the city as Prayagraj ahead of the 2019 Kumbh Mela.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Yadav said today's rulers were trying to show that they are working by just changing the name of Allahabad.

"... They have even re-named Ardh Kumbh to Kumbh. This is toying with tradition and belief," the former UP CM tweeted.

ALSO READ: Allahabad likely to be renamed Prayagraj before Kumbh

However, reacting to Yadav, Energy Minister and government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma claimed that the belief of people were hurt when the city was named Allahabad.

"Some persons are objecting to renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj. The objections are baseless. It is the right of the government to rename any city. If needed, we will rename more cities and roads. The mistakes done earlier will be rectified," he said.

UP Governor Ram Naik had already supported the demands of the saints and the people of the Sangam city, he had said.

"The government will soon send a proposal to the Centre to change the name of the city," the CM had said.