WILL RENAME BHADOHI AS SANT RAVIDAS NAGAR IF VOTED TO POWER, SAYS MAYAWATI
LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and former chief minister Mayawati said here on Saturday that if voted back to power in Uttar Pradesh , her government would reverse the decision of the Samajwadi Party government and rename Bhadohi as Sant Ravidas Nagar.
Mayawati made the announcement on the birth anniversary of the noted 14th century saint who was born in a dalit home in Varanasi and went on to be the founder of the Bhakti movement in north India.
While paying tributes to the noted saint, Mayawati lashed out at the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress, accusing them of engaging in ‘theatrics’ by visiting temples.
“During their tenure, these parties didn’t do anything for Sant Ravidas and now out of power they are engaging in theatrics by visiting his temple,” she said in a statement issued to the media on Saturday.
Mayawati also listed works done during her time in power in memory of Sant Ravidas. She said these included naming Bhadohi after the saint, instituting Sant Ravidas Samman Puruskar, a statue in his name in Varanasi, establishing Santguru Ravidas Rajkiya Mahavidyalay in Faizabad and Sant Ravidas Polytechnic in Chandauli. Besides, a bridge across river Ganga was named after the saint and assistance was also given for a Dharamshala in Badaun named after the saint,” she said. She also listed the Sant Ravidas park and ghats that came up in Varanasi during her tenure as UP chief minister.