It is the first victory stamp of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh. An obscure railway station near Mathura that had become the centre of politics ahead of the assembly polls in the country's most populous state is set to get the BJP-RSS stamp .
A statue of Deendayal Upadhayaya | via Commons
Top government sources told THE WEEK that the union home ministry under Rajnath Singh is all set to clear the decks for renaming a railway station near Mathura in Uttar Pradesh after Jan Sangh icon and RSS ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.
The railway station, called Farah Town station, is likely to be renamed as Deendayal Dham as it is close to Upadhaya's ancestral village, Nagla Chandrabhan, in Mathura where he was born in 1916.
The move stalled by the previous Samajwadi party government in UP last year is being facilitated by the newly elected Yogi Adityanath government.
Top sources disclosed that Rajnath Singh is set to clear the file which landed at the home ministry's desk weeks after the BJP's landslide victory in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. For the party, it would mean the revival of the legacy of Upadhayaya.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the village to pay homage to the RSS ideologue to mark the first anniversary of the NDA government. Last year, the BJP had also launched a year-long birth centenary celebration in the memory of the leader. The party's plan to get the railway station renamed was stalled earlier by Akhilesh Yadav government.
Rajnath Singh, who is also hailing from Uttar Pradesh, however, did not forget the significance of the proposal and when the file landed at the MHA desk once again, he decided to look into it personally.
As per the government guidelines, renaming of railway stations, towns and cities is done by the union home ministry which gives a no objection certificate to the proposal received from the state government. The NOC is given after the ministry receives comments of Postal Department, Survey of India and so on.
Farah town railway station derives its name from a small town near Mathura which traces its origin back to the Mughal era and finds mention in 1857 uprising. However, it seems history will have to pave way for nationalism for now.
