BJP-BSP fight it out over Ambedkar's name change

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government on Friday denied the opposition's charges that its move to add 'Ramji' to the name of Dalit icon Bhimrao Ambedkar was politically motivated.

Yogi ADITYANATH government decided to change the name of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar to ‘Dr Bhimrao Ramji Aambedkar’ in government and court records, triggering criticism from the Opposition and the icon’s grandsons. While ‘Ramji’ will be added as the middle name, ‘Ambedkar’ will be changed to ‘Aambedkar’ when written in Hindi. In English, it will still be spelt as ‘Ambedkar’.

Principal Secretary (state general administration) Jitendra Kumar issued a circular in this regard on Tuesday to all departments and registrar of Allahabad and Lucknow benches of the high court. In another order issued Thursday, the government made it compulsory for all its offices to put up Ambedkar’s photographs displaying his full name from April 1.

While issuing Tuesday’s order, the government cited Eighth Schedule of Constitution, where Ambedkar’s name is written as ‘Dr Bhimrao Ramji Aambedkar’ in Hindi.

The state government shared with the media a postal stamp of 1991 when the then Congress government at the Centre had 'Ramji' in the name.

"His full name is Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar and we have only done what is factual and correct," said a minister on Friday, adding that the opposition was being unfair in seeing everything through the prism of electoral politics.

This triggered a political storm as opposition parties, led by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), accused the government of distorting historical things for petty political gains.

BSP supremo Mayawati has said the BJP was engaged in a political drama. She also mentioned how neither Mahatma Gandhi (whose full name is Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi) nor in present times the Prime Minister (whose full name is Narendra Damodar Das Modi) have ever been addressed by their full names.

This, the four-time Chief Minister alleged, was being done to come across as champion of the Dalits and to cause confusion.

(With input from IANS)