Why weren’t you named Ravan or Duryodhan? Adityanath justifies switch to 'Prayagraj'

Lucknow, Nov 4: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday justified the name change of Allahabad to Prayagraj, equating the rationale with parents deciding against naming their children after mythological characters such as Ravan and Duryodhan.

Adityanath took a jibe at critiques asking "Log keh rahe hain kyun naam badal diya, naam se kya hota hai? Maine kaha tumhare maa-baap ne tumhara naam Ravan aur Duryodhan kyun nahi rakh diya? (People ask me why I changed the name, what's in a name. I ask them, why did your parents not name you Ravan and Duryodhan.)"

He also claimed that a majority of names in India were related to Lord Ram and that names were important in our culture and society, news agency ANI reported.

Reportedly, saints in Ayodhya have been pressing for construction of a statue of Lord Ram similar to that of Statue of Unity. Located on Sadhu-Bet Island, Gujarat, the 182-metre tall statue of Unity occupies over 20,000 square metres and is surrounded by a 12 square km artificial lake.

The Statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India.

The Babri Masjid, built by Mughal emperor Babur in Ayodhya in 1528, was, on December 6, 1992, pulled down allegedly by a group of Hindu activists, claiming that the mosque was constructed after demolishing a Ram Temple that originally stood there.