A delegation of Rajput community met with Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister (CM) Keshav Prasad Maurya on Wednesday (20 November) and demanded that the name of Sultanpur be changed to Kushbhawanpur, the land where Lord Ram’s son Kush lived, reports Times of India.

According to the report, Sultanpur-based Rajputana Shaurya Foundation met with the Deputy CM and put forth their demand of renaming Sultanpur.

Earlier in March this year, a delegation of Rajput from the foundation had met with former UP governor Ram Naik demanding renaming of the city. The governor had sent a letter to the state CM Yogi Adityanath, putting in a word about the delegation’s request.

The foundation also handed over a letter to the Deputy CM with regard to their demand.

"The deputy CM was in Sultanpur, so we extended our request of renaming the city to him," senior lawyer and member of the foundation Arvind Singh 'Raja' was quoted in the report as saying.

"Two district gazetteers of Sultanpur, one from 1903 under the British government and the other from 1982 under the UP government, refer to Sultanpur as Kushbhawanpur, Kushpur and Kushvati," he added.

The demand of the foundation is based on the traditionally held belief that Lord Ram’s son Kush founded the city situated on the banks of the river Gomti.

Evoking the sentiments of all Sultanpur residents towards the cause, the foundation's letter claims that renaming the city would also uphold 'sanatan' traditions.

The letter handed to Deputy CM also made a reference to poet Kalidas’ ‘Raghuvansh Mahakavya’ and Sultanpur-based writer Rajeshwar Singh’s book ‘Sultanpur: Itihas ki jhalak’.