BJP wants Victoria Memorial to be renamed after Rani Lakshmi Bai

After renaming of the Kolkata Port Trust, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now demanded rechristening of the city’s iconic Victoria Memorial after warrior queen Rani Lakshmi Bai. This comes from motor-mouth veteran leader Subramanian Swamy, who justified it saying Queen Victoria had betrayed the Queen of Jhansi in 1857.

He also cited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech, which he delivered a day earlier at the Old Currency Building here, that several aspects of India’s history were overlooked by historians who wrote about it after Independence without delving deeply into the subject.

I welcome Namo’s statement in Kolkata that History as we know should be reviewed. He should implement that statement by re- naming Victoria Memorial as Rani Jhansi Smarak Mahal. Queen Victoria took over India after the betrayal of Rani Jhani in 1857 and looted India for 90 years

— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) January 12, 2020

“I welcome Namo’s statement in Kolkata that History as we know should be reviewed. He should implement that statement by re-naming Victoria Memorial as Rani Jhansi Smarak Mahal. Queen Victoria took over India after the betrayal of Rani Jhansi in 1857 and looted India for 90 years (sic),” Swamy said in a tweet.

This comes on a day when Prime Minister Modi renamed Kolkata Port Trust after Syama Prasad Mookerjee on the occasion of its 150th anniversary.

(With inputs from agencies)