Historic not religious: BJP MP clarifies why he wants Farrukhabad to be named Panchal Nagar

The BJP MP conveyed his demands to rename Farrukhabad in a letter written to the CM, however, he vehemently denied his demands being based on religious lines.

New Delhi: BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh`s Farrukhabad, Mukesh Rajput on Friday said that the reason he wants Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to rename the city to Panchal Nagar was in a bid to "revive the ancient Indian culture” and not religious, reported ANI.

The BJP MP conveyed his demands in a letter written to the CM, however, he vehemently denied his demands being based on religious lines about argued that he just wants a historical revival of the culture of Farukkhabad.

"Farrukhabad has links to the Mahabharat era. The capital of king Drupada used to be here once and was known as the Panchala area. Draupadi's swayamvar took place in this land and Pandavas built a temple during their ‘Agyatvas’ here which is still present,” he said.

“It was known as the capital of the Panchal kingdom. Today there are two major regiments, the Rajput Regiment and the Sikhlai Regiment," Rajput wrote in the letter.

Speaking to ANI, the MP admitted to writing the letter to CM Yogi Adityanath putting forth his demand and said he seeks a new for the city to Panchal Nagar to revive the Indian culture.

"Even before the establishment of Farrukhabad, Kampil, Sankisa, Shringirampur and Shamsabad were famous here.”

Giving a further historical background of the place, Rajput in his letter added, “In 1714 AD, the Mughal ruler Farrukhsiyar named this historical city after his name as Farrukhabad for the purpose of destroying the Indian historical culture. Therefore I have written a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting to change the name of Farrukhabad to Panchal Nagar to revive Indian culture. We want the name to be as per our heritage so that people feel good. We have requested the CM that it should be renamed Panchal Nagar or Aparakashi," he said.

"This place is pure for the people belonging to the Hindu and Jain faith. There are Buddhist monasteries from many countries including Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Burma and Japan in Sankisa, where tourists from all over the country and abroad come.

Along with this, like Kashi, this city is also known as Aparakashi because of the `shivalaya` in various streets," the MP added.

(With inputs from ANI)