West Bengal has witnessed a series of controversies since the formation of the new government, and now a new political row has erupted over the renaming of the famous Kolkata Road.
The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) recently renamed Suhrawardy Road as Gopal Mukherjee Road. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari welcomed the move, calling it a “historic” decision that corrects a long-standing wrong.
In a post on X, Adhikari said the road was named after a person who “deliberately abused state power as a weapon” and was responsible for the massacre of innocent citizens for political gain. However, opposition leaders accused the government of acting on incorrect historical information.
Read also | The dispute has moved on to KMC renaming Suhrawardy Street after Gopal Mukherjee
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Kunal Ghosh argued that Suhrawardy Street was named after Dr Hassan Suhrawardy, a renowned doctor, educationist and former Vice-Chancellor of Calcutta University. Ghosh pointed out that Dr. Hasan Suhrawardy was not the same person as Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, the then Chief Minister of Bengal who was often linked to the Calcutta killings of 1946. According to Ghosh, Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy was Hassan Suhrawardy’s nephew.
“If, by mistake, instead of the nephew, they punish the uncle, it will be unfortunate,” Ghosh wrote on X, urging the Prime Minister and KMC to check historical records.
Congress leader Pawan Khera also criticized the government, alleging that it had confused Hassan Shaheed Suhrawardy – scholar, educationist, art critic and former vice-chancellor of Calcutta University – with Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, whom he referred to as the “butcher of Bengal”.
Former TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale echoed the criticism, saying that Suhrawardy Street was named in honor of Hassan Suhrawardy in April 1933 and not after Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy. He accused the BJP government of failing to verify basic historical facts before taking the decision.
Responding to the criticism, BJP Bengal spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said the KMC could explain the rationale behind choosing the route for renaming. He added that the BJP welcomed the naming of the road after Gopal Mukherjee, whom it described as a man who protected the lives and honor of thousands during a turbulent period in Bengal’s history.
