‘Not named after religious guru’: Delhi deputy speaker Mohan Bisht to move resolution to rename Mustafabad as Shiv Vihar | India News

Mohan Singh Bisht (File Photo)

NEW DELHI: The Delhi assembly will consider a resolution on Friday, to be put forward by deputy speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, to change the name of his Mustafabad assembly constituency to Shiv Vihar, “in view of the sentiments of constituency voters.”
The list of business of the Assembly showed that Bisht, an MLA from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), will introduce a private member resolution: “This House resolves that the name of the Mustafabad assembly constituency may be changed to Shiv Vihar in view of the sentiments of constituency voters.”
He will move the resolution post-lunch during ongoing budget session, according to PTI.
In a conversation with ANI, Bisht alleged Mustafabad, a seat established after the 2008 delimitation, received its current name due to “certain individuals’ political interests.”
“I have given a proposal to change the name Mustafabad. Between 1998 and 2008, when I was the MLA, the constituency was known as Karawal Nagar. Mustafabad is not named after any religious guru. There used to be a property dealer here by the name of Mustafa, who, along with some political persons, changed the name of the constituency to Mustafabad for political gains. Today, everyone is demanding the renaming to Shiv Vihar,” Bisht said.
He has repeatedly called for renaming the seat claiming it has a “higher population of Hindus” who want its name changed to Shiv Vihar or Shiv Puri.
Mustafabad is in northeast Delhi, which was rocked by fierce communal violence in which over 50 people lost their lives, immediately after the assembly polls in February 2020, won by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
In the recent assembly election, Bisht won the constituency defeating AAP candidate Adeel Ahmad Khan by over 17,000 votes. The 67-year-old became a first-time MLA in 1993 from the neighbouring Karwal Nagar seat.
For the first time since 1998, BJP was elected to run the national capital, winning 48 of the 70 seats. The AAP, which had dominated Delhi since 2013, was reduced to 22 seats.
AAP opposes proposal
Bisht’s proposal has drawn criticism from the opposition. AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha strongly criticised the BJP government, stating they were “elected to govern, not merely alter names.”
Jha pointed out that name changes are “ineffective,” as there are numerous places in Delhi with Urdu names.
“The public has elected them for work. This is a government that just changes names. They change the name wherever they are elected. There are thousands of Urdu names, change them all. What good will it do to the people? It would be good to discuss how the people of Mustafabad will develop. There are thousands of places in Delhi which have Urdu names. Changing the name will not benefit Delhi. This is a city of kind-hearted people, do not sow the seeds of hatred in it” Jha said.