Shedding Samajwadi prefix, UP govt schemes set to get ‘mukhya mantri’ tag

Change is the name of the game as far as government schemes are concerned. The Yogi Adityanath government has already dropped the ‘Samajwadi’ prefix from the previous SP government’s Purvanchal Expressway project.

Also, the chief minister has ordered that all the state government schemes with the ‘Samajwadi’ prefix should be placed before the state cabinet. In all such cases, ‘Samajwadi’ be replaced by mukhya mantri (chief minister),”he said.

“Yes, ‘Samajwadi’ will be dropped from the Purvanchal Expressway project. All the government schemes having Samajwadi in their name will be placed before the state cabinet. Samajwadi will be replaced by mukhya mantri (chief minister)” said a senior officer after the meeting.

The names of the Samajwadi ambulance service scheme and the Samajwadi pension scheme are among those in line to be changed.

This is not the first time that the state is going to witness politics over change of name. The UPA government and the Samajwadi Party government had indulged in a war of letters over the use of ‘Samajwadi’ in the Samajwadi ambulance scheme launched by the SP government. The centre had asked the SP government to remove ‘Samajwadi’ from the Samajwadi ambulance service and even threatened to withdraw funding for the scheme. The SP government decided to run the scheme with its own resources.

Later, SP leaders, including the then chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, had contended that the word ‘Samajwadi’ was mentioned in the preamble of the constitution of India and should not be linked to party politics.

Schemes named after socialist ideologue Dr Ram Manohar Lohia and the late SP leader Dr Janeshwar Mishra may also get new names.

These schemes include the Lohia Samagra Gram Vikas Yojana and the Janeswar Mishra Gram Yojana.

Uttar Pradesh is no stranger to the politics of names. After assuming office in 2012, the Akhilesh Yadav government had renamed eight districts named after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) icons.

The SP government also decided to restore the name of the state’s prestigious medical university as King George’s Medical University (KGMU).

The Mayawati government had named it as Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University.

The Narendra Modi government has renamed a number of central schemes after BJP ideologues.

These include Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (for Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (for JNNURM), Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana (for Indira Awas Yojana), Deen Dayal Upadhyay Antyodaya Yojana (for National Urban Livelihood Mission) and Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gramin Kaushal Yojana (for National Skill Development scheme).