Change PM's name: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal on talk of renaming Ramlila Maidan

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today joined Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece in her attack on the ruling BJP for using the former Prime Minister's name after his death for political gains. Amid proposals to rename landmarks after Mr Vajpayee, including the reported move to rechristen the iconic Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, Mr Kejriwal expressed his disapproval with a tweet that said that "such an attempt won't fetch the BJP votes, but changing the name of the Prime Minister might".

"Changing name of Ramlila Maidan after Vajpayeeji will not fetch votes. BJP should change the name of the Prime Minister to get some votes because people are not voting on his name," the Aam Aadmi Party chief tweeted.

Both the Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and the mayor of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Adesh Kumar Gupta have denied any such plan.

Mr Tiwari said there was no question of renaming the Ramlila Maidan and some people are just "trying to create a controversy" around it. "It's a deliberate attempt to spread lies," he said.

Ramlila Maidan, about the size of two football fields and just two kilometers from the BJP's headquarters, has been the go-to place for protests and demonstrations. The address is also popular for the grand Ramlila it plays host to every year.

The centre and several state governments, which appear to be on a renaming spree, have decided to replace the existing titles of landmarks, schemes and dedicate projects to the much-respected BJP leader.

The list of proposals so far includes,



Jawaharlal Nehru University's (JNU) School of Management and Entrepreneurship, the Bundelkhand Expressway, - expected to be called as 'Atal Path'-- Chhattisgarh's upcoming capital Naya Raipur which will be known as Atal Nagar. A ghat along the Sabarmati River in Gujarat and the AIIMS Rishikesh auditorium could also see a name change.

However, Karuna Shukla, Mr Vajpayee's niece, doubts their intentions. She criticised the way "the BJP was carrying around Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes around the country. "It is a show-off and they are doing it for votes. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and his cabinet never remembered him until now, especially when he had created the state."

Ms Shukla, a former BJP MP from Janjgir-Champa in Chhattisgarh, quit the party ahead of 2013 assembly elections in the state, and joined the Congress in 2014.

"In the past 10 years, the BJP never thought of Atal ji and now, in view of assembly polls in four states, the party is trying to cash in on his death," she alleged.

But the BJP was quick to dismiss her outburst and alleged that it was in fact Ms Shukla who was trying to politicise her uncle's death.

"It is unfortunate... Some people have also pointed out why BJP is taking Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ashes across the country. This is not the first time this has happened...it's happened with several prime ministers -- Nehru's ashes and Indira Gandhi's ashes also went to several states," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said.

It is not a political opportunity but a mark of respect, he added.