Delhi BJP 'renames' Mohammadpur village even as MCD officials clarify it hardly means anything

New delhi: Members of the Delhi BJP on Wednesday rushed to "rename" South Delhi's Mohammadpur village as Madhavpuram and held a small event in the areas to mark it even as officials clarified that this does not change anything because the Delhi government's State Naming Authority was yet to approve the name change.

In their rush and celebrations the BJP also put up a sign board with the "new name" of the village. The event was attended by BJP's Delhi unit president Adesh Gupta and area councillor Bhagat Singh Tokas.

But even as Gupta falsely claimed that they "completed" the renaming process on Wednesday, senior SDMC officials in the executive and the deliberative wing said the civic body does not even have the authority to do so without the Delhi government's nod.

They said that the civic body can only change the names of parks, roads, schools, libraries and gardens among others but it doesn't have the authority to change the names of any historical place, village or town. "Only the state government can initiate the change," an official said.

Another SDMC official, who wished not to be named, said changing the name of the village by locals or by the civic body doesn't have any bearing as it will not reflect on official documents or property papers.

"Locals can put up any signage they want to, but the addresses, property papers and government documents will remain in the old name itself," the official clarified.

In fact, Munirka BJP councillor Tokas agreed that the proposal to rename Mohammadpur was sent to the Delhi government after the SDMC had passed it but the file had not been approved by the state government.

"The file is pending with the Delhi government since December. They are not approving the proposal. Locals of the village are angry. From now on, all signages and name plates outside houses and shops will be changed to Madhavpuram from Muhammadpur," Tokas said but as officials have clarified, this will not officially change the name of the village.

"These days, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is doing everything from celebrating Ram Navami to Hanuman Jayanti to win the hearts of the Hindu community. Now, it is a good opportunity for him to prove if he really cares for the sentiments of the Hindus by approving the proposal," Tokas said.

Meanwhile, Gupta claimed they had "changed" the name as locals did not want to be associated with any "symbol of slavery". He also said there are 40 other villages with Mughal era names and they needed to be renamed after freedom fighters and persons who served the society.

These include Humayunpur, Yusuf Sarai, Masoodpur, Zamroodpur, Begumpur, Saidul Ajab, Fatehpur Beri, Hauz Khas, and Sheikh Sarai.