Medha Kulkarni demands Pune railway station be named after Thorle Bajirao; NCP (SP) objects

The demand, raised during a meeting convened by the Pune Railway Division to discuss issues concerning the Pune and Solapur regions, was met with objection from Nationalist Congress Party (SP) spokesperson and former mayor Ankush Kakade

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni on Monday demanded that Pune Railway Station be renamed Thorle Bajirao Peshwa Pune Railway Station, invoking the legacy of the Maratha general.

Kulkarni argued that several organisations had submitted demands for renaming the station after Bajirao Peshwa. (HT)

The demand, raised during a meeting convened by the Pune Railway Division to discuss issues concerning the Pune and Solapur regions, was met with objection from Nationalist Congress Party (SP) spokesperson and former mayor Ankush Kakade.

“We are not in favour of changing the name of Pune Railway Station, which has a long history. If the central government insists on renaming, they should also consider names like Mahatma Jyotiba Phule or Gopal Krishna Gokhale, along with Bajirao Peshwa,” Kakade said.

Kulkarni argued that several organisations had submitted demands for renaming the station after Bajirao Peshwa and said the Prime Minister and the central government favour reflecting local history through public spaces such as railway stations.

“There is no representation of Pune’s rich history at the station. I demand that it be renamed after Thorle Bajirao Peshwa,” she said.

The meeting was also attended by MPs Amol Kolhe and Nilesh Lanke.

Kulkarni has recently taken up several issues tied to cultural and religious sensitivities. During Hanuman Jayanti, she visited a dargah and asked that the volume of loudspeakers be reduced, citing temple prayers nearby. She also wrote to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) demanding that Sarasbaug be shut down after Bakri Eid, alleging that religious rituals and non-vegetarian food were involved on the premises. The PMC subsequently closed access to the garden.

Her latest demand comes at a time when both the central and state governments have undertaken renaming exercises. The Maharashtra government recently changed the names of Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar and Ahmednagar to Ahilyanagar.