NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday mocked Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami‘s decision to rename 11 places across four districts, suggesting that Uttarakhand itself should be renamed as “Uttar Pradesh-2.”
Chief minister Dhami announced the renaming of various locations in Haridwar, Dehradun, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar districts, stating the changes reflect public sentiment and align with Indian culture and heritage.
The initiative aims to honor notable personalities who have contributed to preserving Indian culture, according to an official statement from the government.
“Uttarakhand ka naam bhi Uttar Pradesh-2 kar dijiye,” said former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav.
In Haridwar district, the changes include renaming Aurangzebpur to Shivaji Nagar, Gajiwali to Arya Nagar, Chandpur to Jyotiba Phule Nagar, Mohammadpur Jat to Mohanpur Jat, Khanpur Kursli to Ambedkar Nagar, Indrishpur to Nandpur, Khanpur to Shri Krishna Pur, and Akbarpur Fazalpur to Vijayanagar.
In Dehradun district, Miyanwala will become Ramji Wala, Pirwala will change to Kesari Nagar, Chandpur Khurd to Prithviraj Nagar, and Abdullah Nagar to Daksh Nagar.
The Nainital district will see Nawabi Road renamed as Atal Marg, and the road from Panchakki to ITI will become Guru Golwalkar Marg.
In Udham Singh Nagar, the Sultanpur Patti municipal council will be renamed Kaushalya Puri.
Acharya Dr Vipin Joshi of the Tapkeshwar Mahadev Temple supported the government’s decision.
“This is historic and should be appreciated. Haridwar is one of the main gates of our Devbhoomi, and the names of the places there should be according to our Sanatan culture…I welcome the step taken by the Chief Minister,” said Joshi.
