BJP MP calls for renaming Lucknow After statue of Lakshman installed outside airport

Abhishek Awasthi.

Luckow: Sangam Lal Gupta, Pratapgarh BJP MP, has revived a longstanding proposal to rename Lucknow after Lakshman. A massive bronze monument of Lakshman, Lord Ram’s younger brother, was installed outside Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport, prompting the demand. Sangam Gupta submitted letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “As per old legend, Lord Ram had handed Lucknow to Lakshman ji and has since been called after him as ‘Lakhanpur’ or ‘Lakshmanpur’.

However, in the 18th century, the then-nawab Asaf-ud-Daula called it Lucknow, and it has remained that way since.”

“Now that the country has entered Amrit Kaal, this emblem of slavery must be abolished,” stated BJP MP Sangam Gupta in his letter. Notably, in May 2022, UP CM Yogi’s tweet to greet PM Modi drew attention since it included Lucknow’s allusion to Lakshman. “Seshavatar bhagwan Sri Lakshmanji ki pawan nagri Lucknow mein aapka hardik swagat va abhinandan (warm greeting on your arrival in Lucknow, Lord Lakshman’s country),” CM Yogi had tweeted at the time.