Suvendu Adhikari demands renaming of Kolkata’s Esplanade metro station, Lenin Sarani

West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday demanded that Esplanade Metro station in Kolkata be renamed as 'Dharmatala' and 'Lenin Sarani' as 'Dharmatala Road'.

Adhikari made this demand on behalf of the Banga Kumbh Mela Parishad during a gathering of sages and saints at Dharmatala where he went to worship on Saturday. The organizers of the ceremony turned to the opposition leader with several other challenges.

Meanwhile, Ganga Puja and Aarti was organized by Dharma Thakur Puja Mahotsav Samiti in collaboration with Banga Kumbh Mela Parishad from May 5 to May 7 at Dharmatala.

Adhikari said he would talk to the Union Railway Minister about renaming the Esplanade metro station. However, he said other demands will be met when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) takes over the government in West Bengal. “If a nationalist government like Yogi Adityanath comes to power in the state, Lenin Sarani will be renamed as Dharmatala Road and Mayo Road as Dharmaraj Sarani,” Adhikari said.

Trinamool Congress rejects Suvendu Adhikari’s demands

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has strongly opposed Adhikari’s demand to change the name of the roads. TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said, “This name change is a genetic problem of the BJP. And Suvendu Adhikari has a mental problem. It is enough to say something. There is a tradition everywhere.”

Ghosh said that though the ideologies of the TMC do not match that of Lenin’s, his ideals had an influence over the world. He said that it is “absurd” to change the name of something in the name of religion. “If somewhere a Lenin pillar is giving recognition to his movement, his leadership, then it is absurd to change that too in the name of religion,” the TMC leader said.

He said that the BJP looks at everything from a narrow religious point of view and that their “extreme devotion is a sign of theft”. Ghosh also alleged that the probe agency, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is an “established thief”. “Suvendu Adhikari is really trying to please his top leaders and stay in their good books,” he claimed.