‘No Muslim family here’: Yogi renames UP’s Mustafabad as Kabir Dham; Congress hits back
Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai on Monday criticised the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government’s decision to rename Mustafabad village in Lakhimpur Kheri district to Kabir Dham, accusing it of focusing on symbolism rather than governance.
Rai questioned the government’s development record, saying, “Tell us what work you have done in the cities whose names you have changed. Lakhimpur Kheri is a major sugarcane hub — how many sugar mills have been set up there? You changed Allahabad to Prayagraj; how many factories have been built there? Changing names won’t benefit the public; people need work.”
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The Congress leader’s comments came hours after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the renaming during an event at Mustafabad, where he said the village would be called Kabir Dham since “no Muslim family lives here.”
Yogi added that under the previous regimes, names such as Ayodhya and Prayagraj had been altered “to hurt religious sentiments,” accusing earlier governments of “hypocrisy.” “When our government came to power, Ayodhya and Prayagraj regained their old, glorious heritage. Similarly, Mustafabad will now be known as Kabir Dham,” he said.
Mustafabad, located in Gola Gokaran Nath tehsil of Kheri district, has around 600 residents from Brahmin, Yadav, and Verma communities. According to the 2011 Census, Scheduled Castes make up 24.2 percent of the population.
Rai also took aim at the Election Commission, alleging that it had become “a puppet in the hands of the BJP” ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, which will take place in two phases on November 6 and 11, with results to be declared on November 14.
He claimed that public faith in the election process was waning, saying, “The Election Commission is completely a puppet in the hands of the BJP.”
Meanwhile, election authorities have launched a Special Intensive Review — described by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as a “shuddhikaran” or purification — of voter lists in Bihar ahead of the polls.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s announcement to rename Mustafabad village as Kabir Dham has drawn sharp political reactions, reigniting debate over the state government’s emphasis on renaming towns and villages.
Adityanath made the remarks during his visit to the Vishwa Kalyan Ashram in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Mustafabad village, where he participated in the ‘Smriti Prakatotsav Mela’. He claimed the previous renaming of cities like Ayodhya and Prayagraj was politically motivated and that the BJP government was restoring “the region’s cultural and spiritual heritage.”
However, opposition parties, led by the Congress, allege that such moves divert attention from issues like unemployment, rural distress, and industrial stagnation.
Ajay Rai’s remarks reflect a broader opposition critique that the UP government has prioritised religious symbolism over practical development.
With the Bihar Assembly elections approaching, the political rhetoric around cultural identity, governance, and institutional independence continues to dominate regional discourse.
(With PTI inputs)