Bengaluru, May 23 (PTI) Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar on Friday defended renaming Ramanagara as Bengaluru South district after Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy lashed out at the Congress government in Karnataka, accusing them of doing it to jack up land prices.
The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the renaming of neighbouring Ramanagara district as ‘Bengaluru South’.
Ramanagara, about 50 kms from here, will remain as the headquarters of the renamed district, which will also consist of Magadi, Kanakapura, Channapatna and Harohalli Taluks.
Ramanagara, which has now been renamed, is the home district of Shivakumar, also the state Congress chief.
He represents Kanakapura Assembly constituency in the district, and had first mooted the proposal to rename the district as Bengaluru South.
“Do they think they will remain in power permanently. Situations will change. The name they have given will be changed in the future,” Kumaraswamy said in New Delhi.
Pointing out that Ramanagara has a rich history, which has given the state three CMs, Kumaraswamy said he would have appreciated if the district was named after former chief minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah.
He said Ramanagara district was carved when he was the chief minister in 2007and the district was named after the biggest town.
“They (Congress) could’ve opposed it in 2007 when I took the decision but they didn’t,” Kumaraswamy charged.
The Central Minister alleged that the renaming was part of a conspiracy by Shivakumar to inflate land prices.
“Why was the district renamed. The hidden agenda is clear. I won’t bother about it now. I’ll respond at the right time,” he said.
Siddaramaiah emphasised that the state government has power to rename a district, which it has exercised.
Regarding the charge that the district has a history, which the state government ignored, the Chief Minister sought to know what historical background was taken into consideration while naming it as Ramanagara.
“The decision (to rename Ramanagara) was taken after gathering public opinion,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in Mysuru.
Shivakumar alleged that Kumaraswamy was indulging in politics over renaming the district though Ramanagara was not related to him.
“Did Kumaraswamy come to Ramanagara to do politics? Why did he not do politics in his home district of Hassan. Why hasn’t he removed the initials in his name which refer to his father’s name and his village’s name,” Shivakumar told reporters in Vijayapura.
Noting that he is from Bengaluru district, the DCM said names of places have significance.
“Why was Madras changed to Chennai, Gulbarga to Kalaburagi? The people of the district too have their aspirations. Is it bothering anyone,” he sought to know.
Asked about the allegation that renaming of Ramanagara was done for real estate gains, he said, “Yes, we want the values of our farmers’ land to go up. We want our people to get more jobs. We want investors to come and develop this place.” Shivakumar sought to clarify that the name of the district headquarter town Ramanagara will not be changed and it will continue to remain the same.
“We are only changing the name of the district and not the headquarter town Ramanagara,” he explained.
Opposing the decision, Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj said name of the district should not be changed just to satiate the ego of politicians.
“This district has lost its history, universal appeal and power. The Karnataka government has committed the first sin of merging Ramanagara with Bengaluru. Innocent people know nothing. Politicians are doing it as per their whims and fancies, which is not a good sign,” Nagaraj told reporters in Ramanagara. PTI GMS AMP GMS SA
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