PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar’s recent move to rename Raghunathpur railway station after Baba Brahmeshwar Nath, on Friday prompted ally BJP to revive its old demand for renaming Bakhtiyarpur town and its railway station.
“When Raghunathpur railway station can be renamed why not Bakhtiyarpur?” asked the BJP’s firebrand MLA Haribhushan Thakur Bachol while talking to TOI on Friday.
Bachol and the BJP’s Begusarai MP & Union minister Giriraj Singh have since long been demanding renaming of Bakhtiyarpur town and its railway station on the plea that the town is named after Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khalji, the military general of slave dynasty founder Qutubuddin Aibak, who had destroyed the famous Nalanda University in Bihar in the 12th century.
Coincidentally, Bakhtiyarpur is the birthplace of Bihar CM Nitish Kumar who, in the past always pooh-poohed the BJP leaders’ demand, saying, "It is a ‘Faltu Baat’ (worthless talk).”
Welcoming the state government’s move to rename Raghunathpur station (in Buxar district) after Baba Brahmeshwar Nath, Bachol said, “Now, we should correct the history and rename Bakhtiyarpur after CM Nitish Kumar or his father Kaviraj Ram Lakhan Singh (a freedom fighter) or another freedom fighter Sheel Bhadra Yajee who also born at Bakhtiyarpur.”
Bachol also demanded renaming Muzaffarpur, Begusarai, Hajipur and Biharsharif on the plea that these towns were named by Mughals or other invaders.
Earlier on Thursday, the CM wrote a letter to Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnav requesting him to rename Raghunathpur railway station after Baba Brahmeshwar Nath.
Nitish, on Thursday also laid foundation stones for a beautification project at Baba Brahmeshwar Nath temple complex at Brahmpur town in Buxar district, said in the letter that locals had long been making the demand for renaming the Raghunathpur station.
“As per mythology, the ancient temple of Lord Shiva at Brahmapur was established by Lord Brahma. Devotees throng the shrine to offer prayers throughout the year, especially during the Hindi months of Falgun and Shravan. Local people have been demanding for the last several years that Raghunathpur railway station in Brahmpur block be renamed after Baba Brahmeshwar Nath. …… Therefore, the state government recommends that Raghunathpur railway station be renamed as Baba Brahmeshwar Nath station,” the CM has written in the letter.
However, the railway ministry is yet to respond to the CM’s letter, sources said.
