The Indore Municipal Corporation in Madhya Pradesh has removed signboards with new street names in a Muslim-dominated area after a Bharatiya Janata Party leader said these were tied to a “particular religion”, officials have said.
Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav said on Thursday that legal action would be initiated against a ward councillor for allegedly renaming the roads illegally.
Former BJP MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, son of MP Urban Development and Housing Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya, wrote to IMC commissioner Shivam Verma claiming some streets in Chandan Nagar had been renamed on the basis of a “particular religion”.
He claimed civic employees had put up signboards with “altered names”, and warned of an agitation if the boards were not removed immediately.
Mayor Bhargav said ward councillor Fatma Rafiq Khan had “unlawfully” renamed five streets in Chandan Nagar's Ward No. 2 and got the signboards installed through corporation staff.
The boards were subsequently removed, and legal action has been directed against the councillor, Bhargav said.
The councillor's husband Rafiq Khan denied the charge, stating they had, two years ago, requested the corporation to install signboards in the densely populated locality for public convenience.
The civic body had put up the boards with names that had been in use for around 40 years, Rafiq Khan claimed.
Khan said while he and his wife had not objected to the removal of the disputed signboards, they would meet the mayor to present their side.
One of the removed signboards carried ‘Sakina Manzil Road' alongside ‘Chandan Nagar Sector-B Ward No. 2' for the same street, while another street was shown as ‘Raza Gate' as well as ‘Loha Gate Road'.
Local resident Abdul Wahid Khan said one board displayed ‘Gausia Road' along with ‘Chandu Wala Road' since both names were commonly used.
“The removal of these boards will obviously cause difficulty in locating addresses,” he added.