Madhya Pradesh: Nehru Park Renamed After CM Shivraj's Son in Budhni; Congress, BJP Spar over the Issue

Bhopal: In the midst of a row over the renaming of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society in Delhi to the Prime Minister’s Museum and Library Society, Congress in Madhya Pradesh alleged that a park named after former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in Chief Minister's home constituency Budhni has been renamed after his elder son Kartikey Chouhan. Apart from this, another park is also named after his youngest son Kunal Chouhan, alleged the opposition party. 

Father of two sons, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, has been representing the Budhni Assembly seat of Sehore district for the last two decades. 

“The name of Nehru Park (named after Jawaharlal Nehru) has been changed after Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s elder son Kartikeya Singh Chouhan while another park is named after younger son Kunal,” alleged former minister and Congress leader Ajay Singh on Saturday.

Attacking the BJP over the “name-changing spree”, Singh accused the saffron party of erasing the names of great personalities who made important contributions to the freedom struggle and renaming it after their relatives.

The Congress leader questioned the magnitude of the contribution of CM's sons – Kartikeya and Kunal – to the country. “It has been a tradition to name public parks, corners, roads and buildings after the great personalities who contributed to the society and the country," former Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh said.

“Shivraj ji should talk about what contribution Kartikeya and Kunal have made. Where does Kartikeya stand in front of Jawaharlal Nehru, who contributed immensely to the country’s independence and to building a new India?” he questioned.

He further asked if Budhni’s local body has renamed these parks “out of sycophancy”, why has Chouhan not stopped them.

CM Chouhan's eldest son, Kartikey Singh Chouhan, who opened a flower shop in Bhopal a couple of years ago and often takes part in political rallies, completed his LLB degree from the University of Pennsylvania, USA last year. 

Commenting on the issue, the ruling BJP said that Congress shouldn’t have any objection if local people have named these parks in their town out of their love (for Chouhan’s sons).

When asked about Singh’s allegations, Madhya Pradesh BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi said many public places are named after members of a single family across the country.

“Ajay Singh is watching everything from Congress’ perspective. So, he sees Nehru, Firoz Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi everywhere and the Congress believes that everything should be named after them. What is the objection if local people named these parks in their town out of their love?” he asked.

Objecting to the renaming of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Society in Delhi, the Congress has attacked the BJP-led government at the Centre. The party's general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “Pettiness and vengeance, thy name is Modi. For over 59 years, NMML has been a global intellectual landmark and treasure house of books and archives. It will henceforth be called Prime Minister’s Museum and Society. What won't Mr Modi do to distort, disparage, and destroy the name and legacy of the architect of the Indian nation-state”.

Party president Mallikarjun Kharge tweeted in Hindi, “Those who do not have any history, they have gone to erase the history of others. The ill-fated attempt to change the name of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library cannot belittle the personality of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the architect of modern India and fearless guardian of democracy. This only shows the low mentality and dictatorial attitude of BJP-RSS.”

MP Govt’s ‘Name-changing Spree’

After returning to office in March 2020, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led Madhya Pradesh government has renamed over a dozen of places claiming to restore the past glory.

In 2021, Habibganj Railway station as well as the police station were renamed after the former Gond queen of Bhopal, Rani Kamla Pati, in an attempt to woo tribal voters. It was named after Habibullah, grandson of Nawab Sultan Jehan Begum. According to Congress MLA from Bhopal Central, Arif Masood, “Habibullah Khan gave land and also money for the construction of a small railway station in the 1920s. Later in 1969, the state government constructed it as a second railway station in the city after Bhopal railway station in the name of Habibullah only. They are unnecessarily changing the name to end the identity of Nawab’s family, which developed it beautifully.”

Over half a dozen places that were either named after Nawab's family or held historic significance for them have been renamed in the last three years. Nasrullaganj was renamed Bhairuda, while Hoshangabad, originally named after Hoshang Shah, was renamed Narmadapuram. Additionally, Islam Nagar, located 20 kilometres away from Bhopal city, was renamed Jagdishpuram.

The iconic Minto Hall is a renowned structure built by Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum, the fourth and last Begum of Bhopal. Originally named after the British Viceroy Lord Minto (Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound), it has now been renamed as the Kushabhau Thakre Convention Centre in honour of former BJP leader Kushabhau Thakre.

(With inputs from PTI)