Hyderabad:
A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Hyderabad “Bhagyanagar”, Telangana Minister KT Rama Rao posted a sharp response to a BJP leader who spoke of a name change if the party comes to power in the state.
“Why don’t you change Ahmedabad’s name to Adanibad first? Who is this Jhumla Jeevi by the way,” wrote Mr Rao, or KTR, referring to Prime Minister Modi’s home state of Gujarat and billionaire Gautam Adani in his response to comments from BJP- leader Raghubar Das.
Why don’t you change Ahmedabad’s name to Adanibad first?
Who is this Jhumla Jeevi by the way? https://t.co/xD8y6mrfUi
— KTR (@KTRTRS) July 3, 2022
On Sunday, at a meeting of BJP leaders in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Modi said Sardar Patel, the icon of the freedom fighter, had coined the term “Ek Bharat” in “Bhagyanagar”. The comments sparked speculation that a name change was in the offing.
Several BJP leaders and the party’s ideological mentor, RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, have called for the capital of Telangana to be renamed Bhagyanagar.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who campaigned for BJP candidates in the 2020 Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation or GHMC elections, had also urged voters to vote for the party “to transform Hyderabad into Bhagyanagar”.
KTR specifically responded to comments by BJP leader Raghubar Das on Friday about a question about the renaming of Hyderabad.
“Absolutely. As I see it for the past two days, whether it be the businessmen or normal people, they are very angry with the TRS (Telangana Rashtra Samiti) government. This is because this government believes in dynastic politics and only thinks about it family. They don’t think about the welfare of the people of Telangana. So people are supportive of the BJP,” Das said, speaking to reporters at the weekend party gathering.