Allahabad renamed | Photo Credit: PTI

Lucknow: Allahabad was officially renamed as ‘Prayagraj’ on Tuesday. The Cabinet of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cleared a proposal today to rename the historic city. “Allahabad will be called Prayagraj from today,” state minister Siddharth Nath Singh said in Lucknow after the Cabinet meeting.

The Yogi Cabinet cleared the proposal amid protests by the Opposition parties, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. The Opposition had dubbed the move as a poll ploy. Meanwhile, people from the society including intellectuals, teachers, and the common man had given mixed reactions to the move to rename Allahabad, also known as the Sangam city.

Later in the day, speaking on the issue, CM Adityanath said: "Prayagraj was named Allahabad during the Mughal era, around 500 years ago. The place is a confluence of three Holy rivers namely the Saraswati, Yamuna, and Ganga, hence the name Prayagraj. People who have zero understanding of our history and traditions would question the move."

The Congress party had argued that the city had played a key role in the country’s freedom struggle and renaming it would diminish its importance.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, on the other hand, said the Yogi Adityanath government wanted to exhibit its work only by "renaming". "... They have even re-named Ardh Kumbh to Kumbh. This is toying with tradition and belief," Yadav, Adityanath’s predecessor, said in a tweet.

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On Saturday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had visited Allahabad and said that there was a proposal to rename the city in the run-up to the 2019 Kumbh Mela.

Energy Minister and government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma had supported the move. "Some persons are objecting to renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj. The objections are baseless. It is the right of the government to rename any city. If needed, we will rename more cities and roads. The mistakes done earlier will be rectified," Sharma had said.

State Governor Ram Naik was also supportive of the demands put forth by saints and people of the Sangam city to rename it, the minister had said.