Eight UP railway stations renamed; Akhilesh Yadav says 'halaat bhi badlo'

Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the decision to rename eight railway stations in Lucknow division of Northern Railways

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday defended the renaming of eight railway stations in Uttar Pradesh as a bid to eliminate “the symbols of slavery”. BJP leader Anil Rajbhar dismissed the criticism from the Opposition leaders, saying that the public is in support of the move.

A day before, Samajwadi Party Chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the renaming of the railway stations in Lucknow division of Northern Railways. The eight stations were officially renamed after saints and freedom fighters, which the BJP leader said were aimed at “establishing the symbols of our tradition and culture.”

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Yadav remarked: “There is a request to the BJP government to change not just the names but also the conditions of the railway stations.” He added that the ruling party should also give thought to “prevent record-breaking railway accidents.”

In an official order, the Northern Railways informed that the Akbarganj station has been renamed to Maa Ahorwa Bhawani Dham; Kasimpur Halt Railway Station as Jais City Railway Station; Bani as Swami Paramhans; Jais as Guru Gorakhnath Dham; Nihalgarh Railway Station was changed to Maharaja Bijli Pasi Railway Station; Misrauli as Maa Kalikan Dham; Warisganj to Amar Shahid Bhale Sultan, and Fursatganj to Tapeshwarnath Dham.

On the change of names, a railway official told news agency PTI that the new names reflect the relevance of the places associated with the stations. For instance, the Kasimpur Halt station, initially named after the nearby Kasimpur village, was switched to Jais City as the village is quite far away from the station.

Similarly, Warisganj is known for the bravery of Bhale Sultan who fought against the colonial British rule in 1857. Several temples are located near Mishrauli, Bani, Akbarganj and Fursatganj railway stations and hence they have been renamed accordingly, the official said.

The task was undertaken after a demand by former Amethi BJP MP Smriti Irani.