All places named after Mughals should be changed: Giriraj Singh

New Delhi, Oct 22: Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Monday (October 22) not just praised Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for changing the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj, but also demanded that all places named after Mughals be changed.

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet last week passed a resolution to rename Allahabad to Prayagraj ahead of the Kumbh Mela. Prayag was the erstwhile name of Allahabad that was changed by Mughal emperor Akbar in 16th century.

"Khilji looted Bihar but Bakhtiarpur is named after him. Names of around 100 places were changed, including Bihar's Akbarpur. Yogi Ji took a good step. I will demand that in the entire country and in Bihar, the names connected to Mughals should be changed," Giriraj Singh told ANI.

Of the 6 lakh cities, towns and villages in the country, around 704 are named after the first six Mughal Emperors - Babur, Humayun, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb - who were at the helm when the dynasty was at its strongest. The most evident legacy is that of Akbar, who has 251 villages and towns named after him, said an Indian Express report.

There are close to 70 Akbarpurs across the country, followed by 63 Aurangabads.

Last August, Aurangzeb Road in New Delhi was re-named to Dr APJ Abdul Kalam road.

The Congress along with Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party had criticised Yogi government for re-naming Allahabad to Prayagraj. Congress had said that the change would diminish the importance that Allahabad had in the country's freedom movement. Former UP chief minister and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav had also attacked the Yogi Adityanath government's move to rename Allahabad, stating that the present dispensation wanted to show their work only by "renaming".

Hitting back at those opposing his government's decision to re-name Allahabad, Yogi Adityanath said those questioning the move have zero understanding of history and traditions.