Sambal: Condemning the Vishwa Hindu Parishad's (VHP) demand that Moradabad is renamed Pitambarpur, Samajwadi Party MP Dr Shafiqur Rahman Burke on Friday alleged that the BJP wanted to wipe out the Muslims by renaming cities. He said India will not change by changing the names of its cities.
Burke said there are thousands of cities and towns in the country, but nobody has any personal interest in the names that are already in use. "If a city is named after a Muslim then the government wants to rename it and by doing so it wants to destroy the Muslims," he said. "What will India change by changing the names? Will the condition of India change?" he questioned.
Read also: Jairam Ramesh demands to rename Albert Hall in Jaipur
The MP also threatened of taking legal action if the government renamed Moradabad. According to Burke, the government should run according to the law. "Going against the law is illegal. Legal action should be taken for anything illegal. India will not change by driving a bulldozer or by changing its name," he added. "We will not allow Moradabad's name to be changed. We will take legal action against any such decision of the government," he said.
Burke said that to change India's condition, the primary task is to try and change oneself. Only then will India be able to change, he added. After demanding that Lucknow be renamed Laxmanpur, fresh demands have risen from different parts of the state over renaming Moradabad. The VHP has even written to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename Moradabad as Pitambarpur and has tweeted this letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
