Mumbai, Nov 26 (PTI) The Maharashtra government will write to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the education ministry seeking to change the name of IIT Bombay to Mumbai, CM Devendra Fadnavis said amid a row over Union minister Jitendra Singh’s remarks on the nomenclature of the premier institute.
The Minister of State for Science and Technology had said that thankfully, IIT Bombay’s name is not changed to Mumbai, inviting a sharp reaction from MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who said the remarks reflect the government’s mindset.
“As far as IIT Bombay is concerned, thank God it still is this name. You have not changed it to Mumbai. So that’s another compliment to you. And also true for Madras. It remains IIT Madras,” Singh had said, addressing a function at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay on Monday.
Interacting with reporters in Nagpur on Wednesday, Fadnavis said, “First of all, everyone knows that BJP leader Ram Naik had made the biggest contribution in changing (the name of) Bombay to Mumbai. We always say Mumbai, and not Bombay. We have been consistently trying to ensure that ‘Bombay’ is replaced with Mumbai”.
“I will write a letter to the Prime Minister and the HRD (Education) Minister to change the name of IIT Bombay to IIT Mumbai,” he said.
Indicating that the Marathi identity will be the key agenda in the upcoming Mumbai civic body polls, Raj Thackeray said something similar to the Centre’s “bid” to wrest Chandigarh from Punjab’s control is brewing for Mumbai.
The plot to separate Mumbai, which has always belonged to the Marathi people, from Maharashtra was foiled by Marathi leaders and the public, the MNS chief said in a post on X.
Our Marathi Mumbai remained in Maharashtra. Now, the bitterness that’s been festering in their bellies for decades is starting to spill out once again, he said.
People of Mumbai and all Marathi folks living in the entire Mumbai Metropolitan Region should open their eyes now. The name “Mumbai” irks them (ruling dispensation) because it is named after Mumbadevi, the original goddess of Mumbai. Her children are the Marathi people who have lived here for generations, he said.
The Central government tried to “wrest” Chandigarh from Punjab’s control, but backed off after facing opposition from all other parties, he said, adding that retreat is temporary.
Something similar is brewing in Mumbai’s case. An attempt to quietly take control of the city is definitely underway. First Mumbai, and then the entire MMR region will be seized and linked to Gujarat. Marathi people should wake up, Thackeray said.
MNS workers on Wednesday put up a banner outside IIT Bombay, renaming the institution, set up in 1958, as IIT Mumbai.
Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya told reporters that the BJP-led state government will send a proposal to the Centre to rename IIT Bombay as IIT Mumbai. We also want the Bombay High Court to be renamed as the Mumbai High Court, he added.
The city, earlier known as Bombay, was officially renamed Mumbai in 1995 by the state government, to honour the local goddess Mumbadevi, after whom the city is named, and to shed the remnants of British colonial rule.
Hitting out at Raj Thackeray, Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam asked him to admit his grandson to Balmohan Vidya Mandir instead of Bombay Scottish.
He said the BJP did not need lessons from Thackeray on Mumbai’s identity.
Satam pointed out that the renaming of Bombay to Mumbai had taken place due to the initiative of a BJP leader (Ram Naik). He questioned Thackeray’s commitment to Marathi, saying, “You educated your children in Bombay Scottish School and made them study German instead of Marathi in Class 11. Is this your love for Marathi?” MLA Atul Bhatkhalkar also targeted Thackeray. PTI VT CLS ND NSK
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