Lucknow: Adding to the growing list of demands for name changing of district, the district unit of BJP wants Bijnore to be renamed as Mahatma Vidur Nagar.

Mahatma Vidur was the uncle of Kauravas and Pandavas and known as the wise minister of the Kuru Kingdom. He played an important role during the Mahabharata.

According to Bijnore district BJP president Rajeev Sisolia, the local party unit would soon write to the state government regarding the matter.

“It is believed that during the Mahabharata, Mahatma Vidur lived here on the banks of the Ganga. After failing to negotiate with the Kauravas on behalf of the Pandavas, Lord Krishna crossed the Ganga to visit Mahatma Vidur to seek his guidance. The footprints of Vidur in the ashram are still intact. The place is located about 11 km away from the district headquarters, and people throng the place for its epic significance,” said Mr Rajeev Sisodia said.

He further said, “The Vidur Kuti ashram here has its own significance, and many people from across the country know about it. If Bijnore is renamed Vidur Nagar, people will easily relate the district to the Mahabharata era and this will give a historical character to the place.

The BJP leader said that he had already sought the views of people from different walks of life and all of them agreed that the district should be named after Mahatma Vidur.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA from Sardhana in Meerut, Sangeet Som, has also demanded that Muzaffarnagar district should be named as Laxminagar. His newly formed outfit ‘Sangeet Som Sena’ has said that it would soon launch a campaign in support of their demand.