UP Minister challenges BJP to rename Red Fort

Uttar Pradesh's Cabinet Minister of Backward Class Welfare and Divyangjan Empowerment Om Prakash Rajbhar has challenged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government to change the name of the historic Lal Quila or Red Fort.

Rajbhar, who is the president of the BJP's ally Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), claimed that the government is changing the names of iconic places to divert people's attention.

"They have no work to do. They are changing names to divert people's attention. If they have the courage then they should change the name of Lal Quila (Red Fort) or demolish it," he told ANI.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh government formally rechristened the name of Allahabad to Prayagraj after a meeting held in view of the 2019 Kumbh Mela.

On Monday, Union Minister Giriraj Singh appreciated Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's initiative and sought the renaming of all destinations associated with Mughals.

"India is a free country today. We are not slaves of the Mughal or the British. Why should we keep names associated with them? Do people of Bihar not know that Khilji looted the state yet 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 names associated with Mughals should be changed in the entire country including in Bihar," Singh had said.

In response to this, Rajbhar asked, "A leader from Bihar (Giriraj Singh) is giving statements. Did his grandfather construct the road he walks on? Sher Shah Suri built GT Road. Let them first construct a single road; giving statements is different.