Trinamool Congress (TMC) politician Mahua Moitra slammed the federal government’s decision to rename New Delhi’s historic Rajpath as ‘Kartavya Path,’ saying she hoped the prime minister’s new official house would be named ‘Kinkartavyavimudh Math,’ which literally means ‘bewildered monastery.’
According to reports, the road and surrounding area from the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose statue at India Gate C-Hexagon to the Rashtrapati Bhavan would be called as Kartavya Path. During colonial administration, the road was built as a ceremonial boulevard along the lines of London’s Kingsway.
The renaming of Rajpath, which was known as Kingsway during British rule, is considered an attempt by the administration to shed colonial history. Prime Minister Modi has recently stressed the elimination of symbols that represent a colonial mindset in his talks.
“I think Rajpath is being renamed Kartavya Path,” the TMC MP tweeted. “I think the future Prime Minister’s house would be called Kinkartavyavimudh Math.”
The Loksabha member from Krishnanagar also read an excerpt from Sukumar Ray’s HaJaBaRaLa, which is regarded as one of Bengali literature’s finest nonsensical stories. Everything in the children’s story was given weird names.
The Prime Minister’s home will be relocated behind the current South Block as part of the Central Vista project.
Moitra lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday, just after rumours of the Rajpath being renamed ‘Kartavya Path’ surfaced.
“What exactly is going on?” “Has the BJP made it their single kartavya to re-do our culture, our legacy in their megalomaniac craziness to re-write history?” she said on Twitter.
Aurangzeb Road was renamed A P J Abdul Kalam Road in 2015. Race Course Road was renamed Lok Kalyan Marg a year later. Dara Shikoh Road was renamed Dalhousie Road in 2017. In 2018, Teen Murti Chowk was renamed Teen Murti Haifa Chowk. Several recommendations to rename Akbar Road have been made, but nothing has been implemented.
Read more: New Central Vista to open in Delhi on September 8
