NEW DELHI: On the eve of Ram Temple’s ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ (groundbreaking) ceremony in Ayodhya, former Delhi BJP president Vijay Goel on Tuesday demanded renaming of Babar Road in the national capital as ‘5 August Marg’. The former Union minister said he had written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairman to rename the Babar Road, which was named after the founder of the Mughal dynasty in India, near Bengali Market.
“Babar was an invader who attacked India and destroyed the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The prime minister is going to perform the ground-breaking ceremony in Ayodhya on August 5. It will be an appropriate move to rename Babar Road as 5 August Marg,” Goel said at a press conference. The BJP leader said he would launch a signature campaign to press for his demand.
“However, the government may rename the stretch after any other prominent personality. I have spoken with the resident association and traders’ association and they are supporting the demand. I don’t think anybody will object the move for changing the name,” Goel said. Goel, who has a residence- cum-office on Babar Road, also placed a signboard bearing ‘Babar Road’ with cross mark and name 5 August Marg suggested by him.
The right-wing groups have been demanding to change the name of the road for long. “There is no politics in changing the name of the road. In 2015, Aurangzeb Road was changed to APJ Abdul Kalam Marg and in 2016, Race Course Road was renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg. So there shouldn’t be any problem with changing Babar Road’s name, too,” Goel said. He added that he doesn’t want any controversy to be associated with his demand. “This is not related to any religion. The entire nation, including all the religious communities and groups, have accepted the Supreme Court’s verdict, paving the way for the construction of Ram Mandir,” he said.