The renaming of Suhrawardy Avenue to Gopal Mukherjee Road leads to controversy

By The Slate Bureau

Kolkata, June 21: The renaming of Kolkata’s Suharawardy Avenue as Gopal Mukherjee Road is brewing into a political slugfest over BJP being targetted for being unaware of the fact that 'Suhrawardy' was not the premier of Bengal during the communal rights in 1946 just before partition.

West Bengal Chief Minister took to X to commend the historical decision taken by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. Criticism started pouring in after Suvendu said the decision would be instrumental in rectifying “a historical wrong”.

The road was in the name of the uncle of Muslim League Leader Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy the Premier of Bengal during the 1946 riots. Suhrawardy later went on to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

“For decades, a major artery of our City bore the name of someone who wilfully misused state power as a weapon, orchestrating the massacre of innocent citizens for sheer political gain. By renaming it after Shri Gopal Mukherjee, the fearless soul who stepped up as a protector-in-chief to defend and save thousands of innocent lives, finally restoration of historical justice will be achieved by honouring a true guardian and savior. It's time, West Bengal remembers, corrects and honours the Real Heroes.” Adhikari said.

Critics and political opponents said Adhikari’s post about Suhrawardy misusing state power indicated that he was not aware of the fact that the road was not named after Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy but after another known figure in his family.

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation in a decision communicated through a note on June 20 conveyed the decision to change the name of the road which was welcomed by the Chief Minister.

The Congress Party targeted the BJP government over lack of knowledge. Congress leader Pawan Khera wrote on X that BJP leaders were not even aware of the difference between Huseyn Suhrawardy and Hasan Suhrawardy in whose name the road stood. CPI(M), on the other hand, pointed out that the road was named in 1933 much before 1946.