Govt Has Power To Rename Any District, Says CM

Union Minister for heavy industries and steel HD Kumaraswamy on Friday criticised Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar over the state cabinet's decision to rename Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South, accusing him of pushing the move to benefit personal real estate interests.

- Arun Dev

[e-mail] BENGALURU:

Addressing reporters in New Delhi, Kumaraswamy said, "The hidden agenda is clear... After all, this man is a real estate businessman. He knows how to play tricks to increase his land value."

Ramanagara was carved out of Bengaluru Rural in 2007 during Kumaraswamy's tenure as chief minister. It now falls under the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency represented by his brother-in-law, BJP MP Dr CN Manjunath. Kumaraswamy had previously represented Ramanagara in the state assembly.

Shivakumar announced on Thursday that the state cabinet had decided to restore the "Bangalore" prefix to the district's name.

"Ramanagara has given the state three CMs. Kengal Hanumanthaiah built the magnificent Vidhana Soudha that the world is in awe of. He challenged Nehru politically. They could've named the district after such a great leader. If they had, I would've appreciated it. But using Kengal's name wouldn't raise their land value. Right?" Kumaraswamy said.