Change Ahmedabad's name to Adanibad first, KTR retort to BJP on Bhagyanagar

Telangana minister and TRS working president KT Rama Rao has asked the BJP leaders to change the name of Gujarat capital Ahmedabad to Adanibad before thinking of renaming Hyderabad.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's son's reaction on Twitter came in response to Jharkhand former CM Raghubar Das's reported comment that Hyderabad would be renamed "Bhagyanagar" when BJP assumes power in the state.

"Who is this Jhumla Jeevi by the way?" KTR inquired in the tweet.

Das was among the BJP leaders, including Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, who visited the Bhagyalakshmi temple at Charminar during the party's national executive meet over the weekend here.

Yogi had pitched the name change of Hyderabad to "Bhagyanagar" during the 2020 GHMC polls. "If Faizabad in UP can become Ayodhya, Allahabad be Prayagraj, then why not Hyderabad become 'Bhagyanagar'?" Yogi had queried then.

The name "Bhagyanagar", espoused by the right-wing Hindu organisations, also found mentioned during the deliberations in the top BJP meet.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also referred to Hyderabad as "Bhagaynagar", allowing further buzz about BJP's intentions.

According to the BJP executive members who briefed the media on Sunday, Modi mentioned "Bhagyanagar" to emphasise that country's first deputy PM Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, laid the foundation of "Ek Bharat" (One India) by integrating the Hyderabad state (under the Nizam) into the Union. "It is BJP's historical obligation to build 'Shreshtha Bharat'," Modi said.

However, in his speech at the BJP public rally later on Sunday, Modi chose to go with Hyderabad.

Minister KTR's "Adanibad" remark comes following the party's criticism of the Modi-led Centre allegedly operating to benefit a few businessmen.

Last week, CM Rao accused Modi of "damaging India's reputation globally" while blaming the Sri Lankan economic crisis on the PM."

CM Rao also demanded Modi "to explain why his government is promoting coal imports."