Mayawati Criticizes SP, BJP Over University Name Change Controversy

Lucknow, Jun 26 (PTI) - BSP chief Mayawati criticized the Samajwadi Party (SP) on Thursday for repeatedly altering the name of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University to King George Medical University whenever it held power in Uttar Pradesh.

She also censured the BJP-led government for not correcting this change. In her post on X, Mayawati paid homage to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj, praising him as the "father of reservation in India" for instituting job reservations for Dalits in the Kolhapur princely state.

Mayawati elaborated on her four-time BSP governments' efforts in Uttar Pradesh to honor Shahuji Maharaj by naming a new district, educational institutions, and erecting his statues in prominent public locations and memorials. She noted the establishment of Uttar Pradesh's first Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University in Lucknow, which she claimed was promptly operationalized.

She accused the SP, which took power following her administration, of forcefully changing the institution's name back to King George Medical University, despite an existing medical college with the same name in Lucknow.

Mayawati further lambasted the BJP for not correcting what she termed as the SP's "extremely hateful and casteist attitude."

She called for reinstating the original name of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University promptly, stating, "The sooner the original name of Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University is restored, the better." The institution, initially King George Medical College, was given university status and renamed by Mayawati's government in 2002.

However, in October 2003, two months into Mulayam Singh Yadav's tenure as chief minister, the SP government altered the name back to King George's Medical University.

In 2007, when Mayawati returned to power, the university's name reverted once more to Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University following the BSP's assembly election triumph.

Nevertheless, upon SP's return to power after the 2012 elections, Akhilesh Yadav's government switched the institution's name back to the current King George Medical University.

In her post, Mayawati also emphasized the enduring relevance of Shahuji Maharaj's ideals, particularly in today's context, where there is an "attempt to render the people of the country, especially Dalits, tribals, and other backward classes powerless," by undermining their constitutional right to reservation.