Video Editor: Vivek Gupta
Mughalsarai railway station in Uttar Pradesh has lost its 156-year-old name.
The station was officially renamed after RSS ideologue Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay in an event presided by BJP president Amit Shah, Railway minister Piyush Goyal and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
In memory of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay something new is being undertaken with our efforts. I, therefore, thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath a million times.Amit Shah, President, BJP
Mughalsarai: Historical Significance
The railway station is considered to be one of the oldest ones in India. It was built by the East India Company in 1862. Mughalsarai was known as 'The Gateway to East India'.
The 156-year-old junction was set up along the 16th century 'Grand Trunk road' built by Sher Shah Suri, the busiest corridor for Mughals that connected east India with the north.
The station is currently the fourth busiest railway station in India with about 125 passenger trains passing through it.
MughalsaraI is also the birthplace of Lal Bahadur ShastrI, India’s second prime minister.
Attempt to Tamper with History?
Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay, an RSS ideologue and the co-founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh was found dead in mysterious circumstances near the Mughalsarai station in February 1968.
For years, the Sangh have been demanding to rename MughalsaraI after their leader before it finally happened under the Modi-led BJP government.
The central government drew flak from the Opposition which accused the ruling party of attempting to tamper with history.
Saffronisation of the Station
In June 2018, Uttar Pradesh governor Ram Naik gave assent to the proposal that was under process for a year. The renaming of the iconic railway station was proposed by Yogi Adityanath in August last year.
Ahead of the renaming event, the building was touched up with saffron paint at places and signboards with the new name were put up.
If BJP wasn’t present at the Centre and in the states would Mughalsarai renaming have been possible? Atal Bihari Vaypayee’s government also wanted to rename this place but the state government didn’t support. This has been possible today only because the country is being guided under PM Modi’s leadership.Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh
On the special occasion, the three leaders also flagged off a passenger train and a goods train with an all-woman crew.
Earlier in August 2015, Aurangzeb road was renamed as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam road.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)