Lucknow

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati on Saturday criticised the previous Samajwadi Party government in Uttar Pradesh for renaming Jyotiba Phule Nagar district as Amroha.

In a post on X, she said her BSP government had taken several steps in honour of leaders from the Extremely Backward Classes and OBC communities, including carving out a new district named after Jyotirao Phule. She alleged that the Samajwadi Party later changed the district’s name due to narrow political motives and caste-based hostility.

Mayawati also said that during the BSP regime, Kasganj was renamed Kanshiram Nagar, Kanpur Dehat as Ramabai Nagar, Sambhal as Bhimnagar, Shamli as Prabuddha Nagar and Hapur as Panchsheel Nagar. She claimed the SP government reversed all these names despite retaining the districts themselves.

Calling it a reflection of the party’s political character, she said the move exposed the reality of its PDA politics.

Paying tribute to Jyotirao Phule on his birth anniversary, Mayawati described him as a pioneer of social transformation and a towering figure from the Bahujan community. She also remembered Savitribai Phule, saying both their names are permanently associated with women’s empowerment through education.

She added that B. R. Ambedkar drew inspiration from Phule and later prioritised education as a tool for upliftment.

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Mayawati further said Phule’s efforts in the mid-19th century to fight oppression and uplift Dalits sparked a powerful movement for social reform across Maharashtra, especially in Pune, while also laying the foundation for women’s liberation and empowerment.