A year after the BJP-led government in the Centre approved the name change of Mughal Sarai railway station, the historic junction was officially renamed Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction on Monday.
According to reports, the Uttar Pradesh government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, informed Governor Ram Naik about the change of name.
A notification to this effect was issued by the UP government on 4 June.
The UP government had taken the decision to change the name of the extremely busy junction located just 18 km east of Varanasi with an objective to revive the legacy of Bharatiya Jan Sangh president Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who was found dead under mysterious circumstances at the station on 11 February, 1968.
The decision was criticised by opposition parties in Parliament, especially Samajwadi Party, which reportedly claimed that Upadhyaya had “made no contribution to the Indian struggle for freedom”. The vociferous protests had led to the adjournment of the Rajya Sabha on 4 August 2017.
Built by the British in the 1860s, the junction connects Delhi to Kolkata. Every major train that runs between the two metros passes through Mughal Sarai, making it the fourth busiest railway junction in India. Located in Chandauli district, Mughal Sarai also has Asia’s largest marshalling yard.