Gujarat govt to take 'concrete steps' to rename Ahmedabad 'Karnavati' after assessing legal angles, says CM Vijay Rupani

Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani on Thursday said the state government will take “concrete steps” to change the name of Ahmedabad to “Karnavati” after assessing “legal and all other angles”.

We are contemplating changing the name of Ahmedabad to Karnavati, the talks of which have been going on since a long time. Concrete steps will be taken after looking at it from legal and all other angles. We will think about it in the time to come: Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani pic.twitter.com/9bVJiHo4ED

— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2018

His statement comes on the heels of Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel saying that the BJP government in Gujarat would be ready to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati if it got the required support from people. [caption id=“attachment_4180741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. PTI[/caption] “People still have a feeling that Ahmedabad should be renamed as Karnavati. If we get the required support to overcome legal hurdles, we are always ready to change the name of the city,” Patel had said, adding that they would rechristen Ahmedabad “whenever the time is appropriate”. The Congress, however, called the promise to rename Ahmedabad just another “poll gimmick” by the ruling party. “For the BJP, issues like the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati are means to get Hindu votes,” said Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi, “BJP leaders dump such issues after coming to power. They only cheated Hindus all these years.” The remarks on renaming Ahmedabad come after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced on Tuesday, a day before Diwali, the state’s decision to rename Faizabad district as Ayodhya . On the day of Diwali, Adityanath also confirmed plans to construct a Ram statue in Ayodhya. This was not the first time the Uttar Pradesh chief minister made such a decision. The move to rename Faizabad district Ayodhya followed the state government’s move to rechristen Allahabad “Prayagraj” and the iconic Mughalsarai Railway Station Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Junction. With inputs from agencies