By IndiaTomorrow.net,
New Delhi, 4 Sept 2015: Mughal emperors were particularly fond of the Yamuna river, and so ironically when Lutyen’s Delhi could not accommodate Aurangzeb Road, the road has been shifted now by the flowing Yamuna in Delhi’s Okhla area, albeit unofficially. Amid disputes raging over the renaming of Aurangzeb Road, sparking a fresh row, Okhla Congress leader and ex-MLA Asif Muhammad Khan renamed a road in Okhla to Aurangzeb Road yesterday on 3 September in an unofficial bid. Aurangzeb Road has a new address now – in South Delhi at Okhla and not in Lutyen’s Delhi.
Khan, protesting against the New Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (NDMC) 28 August decision of renaming the Aurangzeb Road to Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam Road, which he called a decision marked by RSS ideology, named the 3-kilometer-long Pushta Road in Okhla to Aurangzeb Road. The Pushta Road connects Okhla’s Jamia Nagar to Kalindi Kunj, a spot where Delhi and Uttar Pradesh’s flagship city NOIDA meet.
The Congress leader’s step came following the NDMC decision to remove the name of Aurangzeb from a road in Lutyan’s Dehli to dedicate it to the name of ex-Indian President Dr. A.P.J Abul Kalam, a celebrated scientist who recently died while delivering a speech in North East India.
Incidentally, the NDMC decision immediately sparked a countrywide controversy. Journalists and legalists took a jibe at the NDMC in a joint statement, terming the decision “totally illegal, unjustified, arbitrary and against our constitutional ethos.” Reacting strongly against the decision, prominent legalist Justice Rajindar Sachar said, “”It appears to be guided by not reason and law but by narrow communal consideration.”
Khan, the ex-Okhla MLA, views the issue of the road-renaming decision by NDMC as an imposition of the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideology. He said he took the decision to name the Kalnidi Kunj and Jamia Nagar-connecting road as Aurangzeb Road to oppose the ideology of RSS. “The way RSS wants to impose its ideology on the country and wants to interfere into the nation’s history, we are not comfortable with it. The issue is not with the name, but it lies in the question whether we are going to allow the RSS to destroy our Ganga-Yamuna culture and interfere into our history. We are not ready to tolerate if RSS decides what has to be there on the pages of the nation’s history. RSS is trying to rewrite our country’s history,” Khan said.
When asked if his bid to unofficially change a road’s name is legal, the Congress leader cited a reply by the Indian Home Rajnath Singh to prove his stand.
“We the lovers of this country have taken a stand today that we will change the name of this road, and we will stick to our decision. No one will change it after this. As far as legal issues are concerned, Rajnath Singh, Home Minister, had replied in the Parliament that the country’s law does not permit us to change the name of any the historical monuments and roads. Now when the person sitting on the throne violates the law, he should not expect from us to follow the rule. In spite of this, we will send our proposal to the corporation and the corporation should accept our proposal,” Khan elaborated.
Khan expressed grave concern saying that somehow the consent to rename the Aaurangzeb Road was given by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“This proved that Arvind Kejriwal is also following the footsteps of RSS. Regrettably he praised the decision to remove Aurangzeb’s name from the road. Everyone knows that the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) is trying to run this country according to RSS ideology, and it seems Kejriwal has joined the bandwagon,” added Asif Khan.
