BJP MP D Arvind says Nizambad should be renamed "Indur", as it was known earlier.
Claiming that the name of Nizambad, a city in Telangana, is "inauspicious", BJP MP D Arvind on Tuesday said the city, represented by him in the Lok Sabha, should be renamed "Indur", as it was known earlier.
Mr Arvind, who defeated ruling TRS nominee and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao's daughter K Kavitha in the April Lok Sabha polls in Nizambad, said people of the constituency also want the name change.
It is needed as both the city and the district named after erstwhile ruler "Nizam" of Hyderabad has "failed" to fare well in all aspects, the MP said.
"This name (Nizamabad) has become very inauspicious and people's sentiment is what I expressed. Indur has name of Hindustan and it starts with 'Ind' like in India. It is auspicious and also a nationalistic name," he said.
According to the official website of the district, Nizamabad, about 175 km from Hyderabad, derived its name as Nizamabad (Nizam-a-abadi) from the Nizam of Hyderabad Asaf Jahi, VI, who had ruled Deccan during the 18th Century AD. Originally the district was called Indur, known to have originated in the name of king Indradatta who had ruled this region during 5th Century AD.
Earlier, Goshamahal MLA Raja Singh had demanded that Hyderabad's name be changed to Bhagyanagar.
Citing some instances in support of the claim that the name Nizamabad is inauspicious, Mr Arvind said Nizam Sugars did not do well and it never had sufficient water. People also feel that the farm sector is not doing well (due to the name), he said.
Senior Congress leader Madhu Goud Yaskhi, a two-time MP from Nizamabad, said Mr Arvind should focus on fulfilling poll promises rather taking up name changes. "He (Arvind) should first get Turmeric Board to Nizamabad as promised to the farmers during his poll campaign rather than looking to change names," Mr Yashki said.