As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) passed a resolution to rename City Chowk as 'Bharat Mata Chowk', Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) is also in a similar mood. SMC mayor, Junaid Azim Mattu, is proposing to rename city chowks after prominent personalities, who were killed during the 30-year-long armed insurgency. He proposed three names and all of them were allegedly killed by militants.
Mattu said he will propose a resolution in the general council of SMC to rename prominent roads and chowks in Srinagar. The resolution will propose renaming of road from Regal Chowk to Amira Kadal Bridge as “Shujaat Bukhari Road”. Bukhari, a veteran journalist and an editor at English daily Rising Kashmir, was assassinated in 2018. In the charge-sheet, police claimed that Bhukari was assassinated by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants. Mattu will also propose the renaming of the road from Hazratbal Chowk, located near Kashmir University, to Sadrabal, Lal Bazar as “Mushir-ul-Haq Road”. Haq was the vice-chancellor of Kashmir University and was killed in Srinagar by militants after being kidnapped along with his personal secretary, Abdul Gani Zargar. They were kidnapped on April 6, 1990 and their bodies were found on April 10, 1990.
“I will propose both resolutions for voting as per the J&K MC Act, 2000,” Mattu said, adding that the resolution would be moved by him on March 9. He added that other counselors can also move resolutions. “We are not bringing resolutions on the basis of the religion,” he said.
“Roads and prominent crossings which were previously unnamed will be named after historical figures who have contributed vastly to the city and our society at large,” he said. However, filmmaker Ashoke Pandit asked Mattu why he has not included names of Kashmiri Pandits like Tikalal Taploo, Premnath Bhat, Neelkanth Ganjoo and Lassa Kaul. In response, Mattu said, “This “why not” is poisonous. My secular credentials are beyond question. We are also going to propose naming of unnamed roads in the names of at least two names you’ve mentioned. Have patience. Including HL Khera”. Khera, a general manager at Hindustan Machine Tools, was killed after being kidnapped by militants in April, 1990.
Another corporator, Aqib Renzu, said he was also proposing to bring resolution to change the name of Indira Gandhi Tulip Garden. “Kashmir’s tulip garden is called Indira Gandhi Memorial Tulip Garden. I want its name be changed to Kashmir Tulip Garden,” he said.
National Conference leader Sameer Koul criticised the proposals and accused Mattu of being an upstart “vying for ruler’s attention”. “I’m the name of CHANGE, my beloved J&K and Ladakh tumbling from one absurdity to another. New parties, new street names, upstarts vying for rulers attention! This too shall pass away,” Koul said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the BJP was also not in favour of the name change in Srinagar. “How can the SMC change names? Only the cabinet can propose name change,” BJP leader Altaf Thakur said. When reminded that JMC had also done the same, he said the BJP has not taken any stance on the issue. “We haven’t taken any decision on the issue yet. Let him bring the resolution before the council and we will give direction to our councillors accordingly,” he said.
The SMC is a major municipality in the state-run by 74 councillors who were elected in October 2018, in an election where Jammu and Kashmir's two main parties -- the National Conference (NC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) -- stayed away from the polls. The two parties were at that urging the Centre to make its stand clear on Article 35A and Article 370. The two articles were later removed by the BJP government on August 5, 2019, amid communication blockade, siege and arrest of thousands of people in the Valley, including three former chief ministers.
Mattu, who was the chief spokesperson of the NC, resigned from the party in September 2018 after the party decided not to contest the urban local body polls. He contested the SMC election and was announced as the mayoral candidate by the People’s Conference. Later, with the support of the BJP and PC, he became the mayor of Srinagar and officially joined PC.
In December 2019, BJP had moved a no-confidence motion for his removal. Mattu, however, was supported by 50 of the 74 councillors. In Municipal polls, Mattu secured 168 votes, defeating his nearest rival Abdul Gani Bhat of Congress, who secured 76 votes.
