India News | Ahead of Ayodhya Ceremony, BJP Leader Seeks Renaming of Delhi's Babar Road to 5, August Marg

New Delhi, Aug 4 (PTI) A day before the groundbreaking ceremony for the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, former Union minister and BJP leader Vijay Goel on Tuesday demanded that the Babar Road in Bengali market here be renamed as 5, August Marg.

Goel, the former Delhi BJP president, said he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) urging to rename the road.

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"Babar was an invader who attacked Hindustan and demolished Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The prime minister is going to perform groundbreaking ceremony for a grand temple in Ayodhya tomorrow (Wednesday). At such a time, it will be an appropriate move to rename Babar Road as 5, August Marg," Goel said in a press conference.

He, however, said that the central government or NDMC may rename the road after any prominent and inspiring personality.

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He claimed his proposal was supported by the Bengali Market Residents Welfare Society and Bengali Market Traders Association.

Goel, who has an office on Babar Road, posed for cameras with a signboard in the background which had the name 'Babar Road' crossed out and replaced by the proposed 5, August Marg.

“There is no politics in changing the name of the road. In 2015, Aurangzeb Road was changed to APJ Abdul Kalam Marg and in 2016 Race Course Road was renamed as Lok Kalyan Marg, so there shouldn't be any problem in changing Babar Road's name also. This is on public demand,” Goel said.

Goel said he doesn't want any controversy to be associated with his demand.

"This is not related to any religion. The entire nation including all religious communities and groups have accepted the Supreme Court's judgement paving the way for the construction of Ram Mandir," he said.

Goel said that he would start writing 5, August Marg on his letterhead and all his correspondence from now on instead of Babar Road and will launch a signature campaign in the area to press for the demand to rename the road.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)