New Delhi: With the BJP government firmly saddled on a name changing spree, the newly elected Congress governments in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have also set sail on a mission to erase the ideological legacies left behind by the right-wing party.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has issued an order to remove the logo of RSS and BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay from the government documents and official letterheads. The logo will be replaced by the Ashok Stambha, the national emblem.
The decision was taken at the first cabinet meeting itself and within a fortnight of Gehlot assuming office. The government accused the previous BJP government of bringing disgrace to the Ashok Stambh by printing Upadhyay’s logo alongside the national emblem on the government’s official letterhead.
In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has ordered a stop on reciting Vande Mataram at the state secretariat on the first day of every month. The BJP government had initiated this move to instill patriotism among the staff.
Kamal Nath’s decision was, however, met with stiff opposition. Making a partial revision of the order, the CM has now said that both the national anthem and Vande Mataram will be sung.
Indication are that both the states would undo some more of the decisions of the erstwhile BJP governments.
The development comes even as BJP is fighting criticism over its decision to rename places in Uttar Pradesh such as Allahabad, Faizabad and Mughalsarai. While the Union Home Ministry has given its consent to the name changing of Allahabad as Prayagraj and Mughalsarai as Deen Dayal Upadhyay, its decision on renaming of Faizabad district to Ayodhya is awaited. BJP leaders have also demanded renaming Agra as Agarwal Nagar and Hyderabad as Bhagyanagar.
The ideological differences between the Congress and BJP have not remained confined to the administration and governance only, it had its ripple felt in Parliament as well — the recent being the Triple Talaq Bill and the vociferous opposition to the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
BJP has also come under sharp attack over its attempts seen as saffronisation of the education sector. In its first cabinet meeting, the Rajasthan government discussed revision of certain textbooks and syllabus, with the state education minister Govind Singh Dotasara saying they would try to undo “saffronisation of education”.
