Yogi Adityanath: From UP’s gamechanger to namechanger
Change, they say, is a constant in life and it particularly holds true for Uttar Pradesh. More than two months after the people of the state overwhelmingly voted for change and replaced the Samajwadi Party (SP)-led government with one headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the new administration of chief minister Yogi Adityanath is busy changing the names of schemes and projects to stamp its authority.
Last week, the state government decided to rename the civilian terminal of the Indian Air Force (IAF) airport in Gorakhpur after Mahayogi Gorakhnath, the founder of the influential Nath monastic movement. Chief minister Adityanath – who is a follower of the same movement -- is a four-time MP from Gorakhhpur and is the mahant (head priest) of the famous Gorakhnath temple.
The government has also proposed to rename the IAF’s Agra airport after BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay.
A senior official said the proposal to rename the two terminals have been sent to the Centre after the state cabinet passed such a resolution.
The government also decided to change the name of the Mughalsarai station near Varanasi after Upadhyay. The cabinet has already petitioned the Centre for the change.
Upadhyay, who died while travelling in a train near Mughalsarai in 1968 is a former president of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the parent organisation of the BJP.
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