Naming and renaming roads not on government agenda: Naidu

NEW DELHI: Government today spurned the demands for renaming Akbar Road as Maharana Pratap Road, saying "naming and renaming of streets was not on the agenda", a day after Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh wrote to the Urban Development Minister asking for the change.

"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. Singh's 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.

"Our priority is 'gramoday se Bharat uday', as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Government works according to its priorities but everybody has a right to their opinion," BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

In August last year, Aurangzeb Road was named after late President A P J Abdul Kalam following a push by BJP leaders.