A committee set up by West Bengal’s BJP government is mulling proposals to rename several roads, bridges and public places in the state, including three prominent Kolkata thoroughfares named after communist leaders Vladimir Lenin, Karl Marx and Ho Chi Minh.
The 10-member panel, headed by Swami Pradiptananda, popularly known as Kartik Maharaj of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, is expected to hold its first meeting after Durga Puja, when proposals for renaming roads in Kolkata are likely to be taken up, a senior member of the advisory committee said on Monday. The former Meghalaya governor also called for naming an important city road after Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Roy said he had suggested that Karl Marx Sarani in Kidderpore be renamed after Bengali poets Michael Madhusudan Dutt or Rangalal Bandyopadhyay, citing their association with the area. “All these are recommendatory to be submitted after the Pujas and for final decision by KMC,” Roy said. Asked if the Lenin statue at Esplanade crossing in the heart of the city would be removed, Roy said, “If there is a suggestion in this regard, I hope the board will think accordingly. “I have also suggested to the Metro Railway authorities that the names of certain stations in the Tollygunge-Garia stretch of the Blue Line be changed after respective places instead of names of personalities to be of help to the commuting public and residents of the area,” he said.
He also proposed renaming Lenin Sarani, earlier known as Dharmatala Street, after mathematician and former Bharatiya Jana Sangh president Debaprasad Ghosh.
