Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday slammed the Uttar Pradesh government over the removal of 1965 war hero Abdul Hamid's name from his school in Ghazipur district recently. Describing the act as "extremely reprehensible", the former chief minister said all that remains for "some people" is to rename "India" as "BJP".
Hamid's family protested the omission of his name from the external wall and the gate of the school he once studied in, with the local education officer saying it happened during repainting work. Seeing the backlash, school authorities immediately restored his name on the external wall. Hamid's name was reinstated at the entrance of the school on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, Yadav shared a clip of a news article on social media platform X and slammed the BJP-led government over the issue. "It is extremely reprehensible and indecent that more importance is being given to someone else than to those who sacrifice their lives for the country. Now all that remains is for some people to change the name of the country from 'India' to 'BJP'," Yadav said.
"Those who neither played any role in getting independence nor in saving the independence, how can they know the importance of martyrs," he added. After a recent painting work, the school in Dhamupur village in the district was renamed 'PM Shri Composite School', according to officials.
Jameel Ahmed, the grandson of Param Vir Chakra awardee Abdul Hamid, said the school was repainted five days ago and 'PM Shri Composite School' was painted at the entrance, replacing 'Shaheed Hamid Vidyalaya'. On Tuesday, it was restored at the main entrance as 'Shaheed Veer Abdul Hamid PM Shri Composite School, Dhamupur, Jakhanian, Ghazipur district.
