Akbar road issue: Renaming roads is not our job, says Congress

New Delhi: Taking a dig at Union Minister VK Singh who has pitched for renaming Akbar Road as Maharana Pratap Road, Congress on Wednesday said that renaming roads "is the job of the Municipal Corporation" and ministers should work for the welfare of people.

"If they have the penchant of renaming roads, why do they get elected to Parliament?", Party spokesman Manish Tewari asked. Tewari reminded the BJP leaders like Singh that renaming roads "is the job of the Municipal Corporation." "Why they get elected to Parliament, why are they running the Central Government? That is the job of the Municipal Corporation. They should have got elected to the Municipal Corporation," Tewari said.

He said that those in the ruling party should work for their constituencies and those in the government should work for the welfare of people through their ministries.

The Congress leader felt that such demands showed a tokenism mind-set, a frivolous mind-set which is not able to grapple with the complexities and challenges of governance. "Therefore, they resort to every kind of chicanery in order to cover up for their ineptitude and mal-governance." Tewari spoke in similar vein when asked about demands like renaming Aurangabad and Ahmedabad on the plea that they have been named after foreign invaders. "They should try to fulfill their promises to the people," the Congress leader said.

Government on Wednesday spurned the demand for renaming Akbar Road as Maharana Pratap Road, saying "naming and renaming of streets was not on the agenda". "Naming and renaming of street is not the subject matter of the Urban Development Ministry. It is not on the government's agenda. Government's focus is only development," Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters.

Singh has pitched for renaming Akbar Road in Lutyens Zone after the doughty Mewar ruler Maharana Pratap and written to Naidu in this regard. His demand comes amid reports that Haryana government too had sought renaming of Akbar road after the Mewar ruler.

Playing down Singh's comments, BJP said everyone has a right to express his opinion but the government's priority was solving the country's problems and its development.