Right-wing outfit Hindu Sena on Saturday blackened the signboard for Babar Road in Bengali market in Delhi demanding that road’s name be changed and named after a “great Indian personality”.
Hindu Sena president Vishnu Gupta said, “We demand that the government rename the road, which is after a foreign invader, to some great Indian personality. Hence, we have blackened the road signage erected by the NDMC.”
Located in the heart of Delhi, Babur Road is named after was the first emperor of the Mughal dynasty in India.
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) officials were not immediately available for comment on the issue. NDMC is responsible for the upkeep of the road.
This is not the first time such incident has occurred. Last year, Akbar Road in Delhi was briefly ‘renamed’ after the signboard was covered by a poster labelled “Maharana Pratap Road”. However, the yellow and pink poster pasted over the original name by unidentified persons was removed by authorities in the presence of police personnel.
The iconic road, named after Mughal emperor Akbar, Babur’s son, is home to some of the top politicians in the country and also the Congress party headquarters.
In 2017, also the road was ‘renamed’ as “Maharana Pratap Marg” by a right wing group, Hindu Sena.
In 2016, the Race Course Road, where the Prime Minister’s official residence is located, was renamed Lok Kalyan Marg.
In 2015, the NDA government had earlier renamed Aurangzeb Road to APJ Abdul Kalam Road in the memory of the former president.