Rename Meerut after Gandhi killer Godse: Hindu Mahasabha

MEERUT: Joining the name-change chorus led by the leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha has now demanded that Meerut be renamed Godse Nagar after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin. They have also said that Ghaziabad and Hapur should be renamed Digvijay Nagar and Avaidyanath Nagar after former head priests of Gorakhnath Math, whose current head is Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
It should be noted that Avaidyanath was the guru of Yogi Adityanath while Digvijay Nath was the guru of Avaidyanath.The demand from the members of Hindu Mahasabha was made on Thursday, November 15, which they observe as Balidan Diwas. Mahatma Gandhi’s killers – Nathuram Godse and Narayan Dattatraya Apte – were hanged on the same day in 1949.
“Since the process of changing names of cities is on and names are being suggested with Hindu sentiment in mind, we have also put a set of demands. The name of Meerut should be changed to Godse Nagar after Nathuram Godse, and Ghaziabad and Hapur should be renamed as Digvijay Nagar and Avaidyanath Nagar after former head priests of Gorakhnath Math. Both of them were also members of Hindu Mahasabha and we think it is time that Yogi Adityanath honours his gurus,” said Pandit Ashok Sharma, national vice-president, Hindu Mahasabha.
The Mahasabha members also garlanded the only bust of Nathuram Godse in the country – which was installed at their office on Sharda road on Gandhi Jayanti in 2016. The place around the statue was even decorated with saffron balloons.
“We celebrate the sacrifice of Nathuram Godse and Narayan Dattatraya Apte and hence do not mourn the day. They accepted death in a welcoming manner,” said Abhishek Agarwal, district president, Hindu Mahasabha. A hawan was also conducted at the party’s Sharda road office in Meerut.