BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Farrukhabad, Mukesh Rajput on Friday wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath demanding the renaming of the city to Panchal Nagar to "revive the ancient Indian culture".
However, the BJP MP denied his demand being based on religious lines and said that it is only based on "historical facts".
In the letter, referring to the historical background, the BJP MP said that the history of Farrukhabad, the city situated between the three rivers Ganga, Ramganga, Kali river, is rich since time immemorial.
"Farrukhabad has links to the Mahabharat era. The capital of king Drupada used to be here once and it used to be known as Panchala area. 'Swayamvar' of Draupadi took place there. Pandavas built a temple during 'agyatvas', it's still there. It was known as the capital of the Panchal kingdom. Today there are two major regiments, the Rajput Regiment and the Sikhlai Regiment," he wrote.
Speaking to ANI, the MP admitted to writing the letter to CM Yogi Adityanath putting forth his demand and said that he wrote to the Chief Minister seeking to change the name of the city to Panchal Nagar to revive the Indian culture.
"Even before the establishment of Farrukhabad, Kampil, Sankisa, Shringirampur and Shamsabad were famous here. In 1714 AD, the Mughal ruler Farrukhsiyar named this historical city after his name as Farrukhabad for the purpose of destroying the Indian historical culture. Therefore I have written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting to change the name of Farrukhabad to Panchal Nagar to revive Indian culture. We want the name to be as per our heritage so that people feel good. We have requested the CM that it should be renamed Panchal Nagar or Aparakashi," he said.
"This place is pure for the people belonging to the Hindu and Jain faith. There are Buddhist monasteries from many countries including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Japan in Sankisa, where tourists from all over the country and abroad come. Along with this, like Kashi, this city is also known as Aparakashi because of the 'shivalaya' in various streets," the MP added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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