Congress and the BJP are once again at loggerheads. This time, a political war of words has erupted between the two parties over dropping Nehru’s name from the Worli Metro Station.
While Congress alleged that the BJP has an allergy to Nehru’s name, the BJP hit back, claiming it was Congress that always had a problem and raised objections to stalwart BJP leaders being recognised.
Sachin Sawant, Congress leader from Maharashtra, through his social media handle X, has accused the BJP of deliberately dropping the name of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, from the Metro station at Worli.
Citing that the new metro station at Nehru Science Centre is now referred to as “Science Centre,” Sawant said, “The BJP seems to have an allergy to the name Nehru. Omission of the late Prime Minister`s name from the station is an insult to a personality who played a key role in shaping India’s modern outlook.”
He demanded that the name be rectified at the earliest.
The Congress leader further claimed in his post that this is not the first time the BJP has indulged in such petty politics. Sawant said that the BJP government had earlier changed the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in Delhi to the Prime Ministers’ Museum, and even the Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan has been renamed to “My Bharat.”
Speaking to mid-day, Sachin Sawant said, “This is nothing but a pattern of erasing historical figures and rewriting history.”
Refuting the charges, chief spokesperson of the Maharashtra BJP, Keshav Upadhye, stated that it was Congress who had the maximum number of Prime Ministers in the country.
“It was during Congress rule that BJP leadership was treated as untouchable,” Upadhye said. He also claimed that under their regime, the achievements of all of India’s Prime Ministers have been displayed under one roof in Delhi.
When asked about Nehru’s name being dropped from the Mumbai metro station, Keshav Upadhye responded, “I am not aware of this. But it seems to be a technical issue. I will need to get information about the matter before making any statement.”
Further replying to a question about the Nehru Science Centre being a known identity of Mumbai near Worli, the BJP leader said, “Why is Congress feeling so insecure about it? The identity continues and does not get washed away or erased merely because one station is not named on the same lines.”
