New Delhi: Almost half of the nearly 60 institutions and schemes run by the Centre are named after the Nehru-Gandhi family, while Mahatma Gandhi's name figures in just four of these.
According to information released by the Ministry of Planning in response to an RTI query, 27 out of 58 institutions and schemes being run by the Centre are named after former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
As many as 16 of these were named after Rajiv while eight have been named after Indira and three after Nehru, says reply to the query by Hisar-based RTI activist Ramesh Verma.
Only four institutions and schemes have been named after Mahatma Gandhi -- Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, Gandhi Shilp Bazar, Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojana and UPA's flagship scheme Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
Other eminent personalities whose names have been used for schemes and institutions include Mahatma Gandhi's wife Kasturba (1), B R Ambedkar (4), Maulana Abul Kalam (3) Lal Bahadur Shastri (2), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1), Rabindranath Tagore (1), Zakir Hussain (1) and Babu Jagjivan Ram (1).
One scheme each has also been named after Rani Lakshmibai, Raja Rammohan Roy and filmmaker Satyajit Ray.
The four schemes and institutions named after Ambedkar were launched in 1992 when Kanshi Ram and Mayawati's BSP emerged as a force to reckon with.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 16, 2012, 20:21