BJP MP writes to PM to change name of Lucknow, wants to be named after Lakshman

LUCKNOW: BJP MP Sangam Lal Gupta has demanded to change the name of Lucknow, capital of Uttar Pradesh. He wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, to change the name to Lakhanpur or Laxmanpur.

A bronze statue of Laxman has been installed in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in UP. The MP has sent the letter ahead of its formal unveiling. Gupta said there is a legend that Lucknow was gifted by Lord Rama to his brother Lakshmana in the Treta Yug and Lucknow was known as Lakhanpur and Laxmanpur in the early days. However, he also stated that it was Nawab Asaf- ud-Daulah renamed and changed to Lucknow. ‘It is worth mentioning here that today in a country rich in glorious cultural heritage, it seems completely wrong to give a signal of slavery by telling stories of luxury and wastefulness of the Nawabs of Lucknow to our future generation even in the 'Amrit Kaal,’ he added.