NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra took a veiled dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the government’s decision to rename two iconic halls at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Speaking on the renaming of halls, Priyanka said, “There is no concept of durbar but that of shehenshah”, implying that the decision reflects a shift towards a more authoritarian style of governance.
During the Lok Sabha election 2024 campaign, Priyanka Gandhi had finally retorted to PM Modi‘s ‘shehzada’ (prince) reference for her brother Rahul with ‘shahanshah’ (king of kings).
The government on Thursday announced that two halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan will be renamed as part of a larger effort to make it more accessible and reflective of Indian cultural values.
“Rashtrapati Bhavan, the office and the residence of the President of India, is a symbol of the nation, and an invaluable heritage of the people. Continuous efforts are being made to make it more accessible to people,” it said in a statement.
“There has been a consistent endeavour to make the ambience of the Rashtrapati Bhavan reflective of the Indian cultural values and ethos. Accordingly, President Droupadi Murmu is pleased to rename two of the important halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan – namely, “Durbar Hall’ and ‘Ashok Hall’ – as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ and ‘Ashok Mandap’ respectively,” the statement added.
Speaking on the renaming of halls, Priyanka said, “There is no concept of durbar but that of shehenshah”, implying that the decision reflects a shift towards a more authoritarian style of governance.
During the Lok Sabha election 2024 campaign, Priyanka Gandhi had finally retorted to PM Modi‘s ‘shehzada’ (prince) reference for her brother Rahul with ‘shahanshah’ (king of kings).
The government on Thursday announced that two halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan will be renamed as part of a larger effort to make it more accessible and reflective of Indian cultural values.
“Rashtrapati Bhavan, the office and the residence of the President of India, is a symbol of the nation, and an invaluable heritage of the people. Continuous efforts are being made to make it more accessible to people,” it said in a statement.
“There has been a consistent endeavour to make the ambience of the Rashtrapati Bhavan reflective of the Indian cultural values and ethos. Accordingly, President Droupadi Murmu is pleased to rename two of the important halls of Rashtrapati Bhavan – namely, “Durbar Hall’ and ‘Ashok Hall’ – as ‘Ganatantra Mandap’ and ‘Ashok Mandap’ respectively,” the statement added.