Maya names Amethi Sahuji Nagar district

Seven years after it first attempted this and failed,the Mayawati government Thursday made Rahul Gandhis Lok Sabha constituency Amethi...

Seven years after it first attempted this and failed,the Mayawati government Thursday made Rahul Gandhis Lok Sabha constituency Amethi a district and named it Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar. The new district also includes parts of Sultanpur and Rae Bareli districts.

The move is being seen as a message to the people of Amethi that the BSP government cares for them.

On May 21,2003,during her previous stint as Chief Minister,Mayawati issued a notification to make Amethi a district,but her successor Mulayam Singh Yadav cancelled it on November 13,2003.

Mulayam governments decision was challenged in the Allahabad High Court by one Umashankar Pandey. On March 26,2010,the High Court asked the government to consider his request within three months. Subsequently,Pandey presented his case before a high-level committee headed by the Chairman of the Revenue board.

The committee,according to an official statement,recommended restoration of district status of Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj Nagar,named after Sahuji, one of the messiahs of social change who made arrangements for 50 per cent reservation in jobs for Dalits and exploited people under Kolhapur estate.

On Thursday,the recommendation was implemented although the government had earlier issued a notification stating that no change will be made in boundaries of any district,tehsil,block or village panchayat until the census was over. The government said creating the new district was necessary to ensure compliance with the court order and that the decision will be conveyed to the Registrar General of Census. Besides,it claimed,the move wont affect census work.

The new district,with Gauriganj as headquarters,will include five tehsils,16 blocks and 17 police stations. Jagdish Prasad has been appointed the DM and Sugreev Giri the SP of the district.

Story continues below this ad

The government also renamed Kanpur Dehat district as Ramabai Nagar,in memory of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkars wife,as existence of two districts with almost similar names,Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat, created confusion.

Meanwhile,local Congress leaders said they are happy that Amethi has become a district but not so happy with the new name. It should have been named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi,who was elected from here in 1981,1984 and 1989,they said. All we have to say is that it would have been better if the district was named after Rajiv Gandhi because of his long association with the area, said state Congress chief spokesperson Subodh Srivastava.