Row over UP move to add ‘Ramji’ to Ambedkar’s name

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government’s decision to introduce ‘Ramji’ as the middle name of Bhimrao Ambedkar in all official correspondence and records has sparked a political controversy with the Opposition as well as one of the ruling party’s own MPS, questioning the move.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Thursday that instead of altering Ambedkar’s name, it was important that the BJP government followed the path he showed.

Yadav’s colleague Anurag Bhadoria said the BJP was “play- ing politics with the name of the Dalit icon to attract votes.”

The move follows UP governor Ram Naik first drawing chief minister Adityanath’s attention towards the matter in December last year. The state government finally issued an order in this regard on Wednesday, directing all departments to use the full name of the leader in all official correspondence and records.

Raising question over the decision, BJP MP Udit Raj said that it would create unnecessary controversy.

Speaking to a news agency, Raj, a Dalit leader himself, said, “I don’t find any reason to change his name, it’s an individual’s freedom to decide how he wants to be known. Why create a controversy unnecessarily?” UP cabinet minister Swami Prasad Maurya, however, said there was no politics in the decision and no ulterior motive should be seen in it.

Another Dalit leader, Lalji Nirmal, welcomed the government’s decision and said it should also be looked into as to why Ambedkar’s name was improperly used for so many years. “Why wasn’t the middle name of Ambedkar was not in use for so many years even though he signed as ‘Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar’ on the first copy of the Constitution? This should be investigated,” said Nirmal, president, Ambedkar Mahasabha. Ramji was the name of Bhimrao Ambedkar’s father.

“Why Baba Saheb’s full name was not used in textbooks? Students have full right to know the correct name of Baba Saheb. There should not be even a minor change in his name. The state government’s decision is a welcome step,” he said.

Kauleshwar Priyadarshi, assistant professor at a degree college in Deoria, said: “I cannot understand why Baba Saheb’s full name was not in use. Why and when ‘Ramji’ was omitted from his name?” “His complete name should be used not only in Uttar Pradesh but all across the country. Correct name should be mentioned in textbooks in schools and colleges,” he said. With 2019 gen- eral elections just a year away, not only the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but also the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Congress are likely to hold several events to mark the birth anniversary of Ambedkar on April 14.

AMBEDKAR’S PORTRAIT MUST IN ALL UP OFFICES

LUCKNOW: From April 1, all government offices in Uttar Pradesh must have a portrait of Dr BR Ambedkar.

“All government offices in the state must have a picture of Dr Ambedkar from April 1,” UP health minister and government spokesman Sidharth Nath Singh said.