- People demand that Bakhtiyarpur Station be renamed to Sheel Bhadra Yajee Nagar.
- Protest held to honour revolutionary Pandit Sheel Bhadra Yajee.
- Appeal to CM and Centre for immediate action on name change.
Jagran Correspondent, Bakhtiyarpur | The All India Freedom Fighters' Association and Successor Organisation Bihar has once again raised the demand to rename the Bakhtiyarpur Railway Station to "Sheel Bhadra Yajee Nagar."
On Monday, people held a day-long protest at Pandit Yajee's samadhi. The organisation's general secretary, Ramanand Sharma, appealed to Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary and the Central government to take immediate action in this regard.
Who Was Pandit Sheel Bharda Yajee?
Speakers said that in 1997, when the country was celebrating the 50th anniversary of independence, a proposal was made to rename Bakhtiyarpur Railway Station "Sheel Bharda Yajee Nagar" in honor of the great revolutionary and freedom fighter, Shilbhadhra Yaji, who served as the president of the Forward Bloc after Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
First Civilian To Face A Court Martial At Red Fort
They said that Yajee is the pride of not only Bihar but the entire country. He was among the close associates of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and was the first civilian to be court-martialed at the Red Fort.
During the tenure of then Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, the issue was seriously considered, and the relevant committee moved the process forward. At that time, the joint committee gave a positive recommendation in favour of the proposal. Following this, the then Governor of Bihar also gave his consent and sent the proposal to the Railway Ministry.
In 2005, the Home Department of the Bihar government sent a letter to the Railway Ministry, advancing the demand for a name change. According to the people, this demand is not motivated by political motives, but rather an effort to honour the freedom fighters and give due recognition to their history.
Citing previous statements by CM Choudhary, the organisation said that he had previously called for changing the names of several cities and stations in Bihar named after invaders.