Union Cabinet Minister of Food Processing Harsmirat Kaur Badal on Wednesday briefed Prime Minister Narendra Modi on an attempt to change Dayal Singh College’s name to Vande Matram Dyal Singh College.

The college administration had put up banners of the new name at the annual prize distribution function organised on 25 April.

The Union Cabinet Minister in a tweet said, “Briefed PM that Amitabh Sinha held annual function on Apr 25 &changed name of Dayal Singh College to VandeMatram DSC. I stressed college mgmt seems bent upon destroying legacy of S Dayal Singh Majithia &is being supported by DU VC Yogesh Tyagi who should also be proceeded against”.

Briefed PM that Amitabh Sinha held annual function on Apr 25 &changed name of Dayal Singh College to VandeMatram DSC.I stressed college mgmt seems bent upon destroying legacy of S Dayal Singh Majithia &is being supported by DU VC Yogesh Tyagi who should also be proceeded against.

— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) May 2, 2018

“Have requested PM @narendramodi ji to sack Dayal Singh College mgmt head Amitabh Sinha for going against HRD min. assurance that name of Dayal Singh College won’t be changed.I briefed him that Sinha’s mischievous conduct had hurt Sikh sentiments & am hopeful of corrective action”, she said in another tweet.

Have requested PM @narendramodi ji to sack Dayal Singh College mgmt head Amitabh Sinha for going against HRD min. assurance that name of Dayal Singh College won’t be changed.I briefed him that Sinha’s mischievous conduct had hurt Sikh sentiments & am hopeful of corrective action.

— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) May 2, 2018

Amitabh Sinha is the chairperson of governing body of Dyal Singh College.

In November 2017, Delhi University’s Dyal Singh College (Evening) had renamed itself after India’s national song Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya.

The Governing Body of Dyal Singh College (DSC) had changed the name of the varsity to Vande Mataram Mahavidyalaya and passed the decision to change evening shift timings to regular day college.

After the decision, both –morning and evening– sessions of the college will function simultaneously.

However, HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar had said the decision to change the name of an evening college was not the government’s decision and has been put on hold.

“Is not a government’s decision and the government does not like it. That’s why we have asked that the decision is withheld forthwith and an immediate meeting is convened … we don’t like it and such a thing will not happen,” the minister had said, while adding that the Delhi University, with which the college is affiliated, has also been informed.

The South campus college was named after Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, founder of The Tribune Trust (1881) and Punjab National Bank (1894). The activist also set up a Dyal Singh Trust, which in 1910 established the Dyal Singh College in Lahore.

As per The Hindu news reports, a college official clarified that there has not been any official change in the name of the college. The official said that since Dyal Singh College (Evening) had become a morning college, Vande Mataram was added as a prefix to differentiate between the two in the backdrop at the function.