Last evening, Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya put out a tweet about his Hyderabad campaign trip ahead of the upcoming GHMC elections. He began his tweet with, “Dear young people of Bhagyanagar”. The poster he shared along with the tweet named his campaign as ‘Change Hyderabad’.
On Monday, a hashtag began to trend asking the MP to go back, in a very abusive way, using a vulgar Telugu word. This was probably the first time when a political hashtag, that seemed organic, targeting a political leader from another state has trended from Hyderabad. Several people reacted to the use of Bhagyanagar and took to social media to react.
A lot of people who didn’t want to indulge in the abusive hashtag used #ItIsHyderabadNotBhagyanagar hashtag as a medium to express their opinion and views. The BJP has turned the local body elections into a high voltage battlefield. Apart from Union Minister of State G Kishen Reddy, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and several more are expected to be part of the election campaign.
Many BJP leaders have in the past asked for Hyderabad's name to be changed. In 2018, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath promised the renaming of Hyderabad as ‘Bhagyanagar’ while campaigning in the city. As TNM had written earlier, the demand that Hyderabad should be called Bhagyanagar is based on the legend of queen Bhagmati, a dancer who fell in love with the ruler of Hyderabad, Quli Qutub Shah, in the 16th century. According to the legend, the city was then named 'Bhagyanagar' after the dancer, and when she married the king and converted to Islam, she took the name of Hyder Mahal, after which the city is presently named. However, many historians believe that this is a fictional story.
Read a detailed story- The legend of Bhagmati: Did the Queen really exist?
As part of the campaign trail, Tejasvi was scheduled to visit Secunderabad, Quthbullapur, Jubilee Hills, Madhapur, Lingampally and Serilingampally.
While addressing a rally in the Gandhi Nagar ward, TRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha said young leaders like Tejasvi Surya should be more responsible. She said, “The gentleman from Bengaluru should understand that we belong to the city which respects everyone’s culture and lifestyle. I challenge the BJP leaders to tell what have they done for Hyderabad? I heard a gentleman wants to change Hyderabad. He should realise that Hyderabad has changed a lot in the last six years.”
Speaking about investments and naming tech giants Kavita said that today Hyderabad has become a preferred city under the leadership of CM KCR and Minister KTR. “The gentleman from Bengaluru should understand that we belong to the city which respects the culture and lifestyle of everyone. We Hyderabadis care only and only about development.”
Oh Lord!
— Hi Hyderabad (@HiHyderabad) November 23, 2020
"Fill this city with people,
as thou has filled the ocean with fish!"
Excerpt from Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah's Prayer While Laying Foundation Stone Of #Hyderabad.
Mera Shaher Hamesha Aabad Rahega! #ItIsHyderabadNotBhagyanagar pic.twitter.com/2hokRQ0NSs
BJP is trying to give communal colour to the forthcoming Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls. Instead of demanding change of name of Hyderabad City BJP should tell people what Modi govt did for development of Hyderabad in last 6 years?#ItIsHyderabadNotBhagyanagar
— Ashish Vivek Merukar (@AMerukar) November 23, 2020
Bhagyanagar?
— Natasha نتاشا (@nuts2406) November 23, 2020
This is Hyderabad. The city founded by Quli Qutb Shah in 1591. https://t.co/y5426Ju4Pq
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