Kumaraswamy lashes out at govt over renaming of district
Union minister HD Kumaraswamy criticizes DCM DK Shivakumar for renaming Ramanagara to Bengaluru South, alleging personal real estate interests behind the move.
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.
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 CM. 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.
His criticism extended to Shivakumar’s past statements. The deputy CM currently represents Kanakpura in the state assembly. In October 2023, he had advised Kanakpura’s voters against selling farmland, promising that the land value would increase when the area was integrated into Bengaluru. “But God has given me the strength to increase the value of your property by ten times… Remember you don’t belong to Ramanagara district, but Bengaluru district,” Shivakumar had said.
In response to Kumaraswamy’s remarks, Shivakumar questioned the JD(S) leader’s involvement in the affairs of Ramanagara. “Why didn’t he do politics in his hometown? Before questioning us, he should think about changing his own name — it carries both his village and his father’s name,” Shivakumar said.
He defended the renaming by pointing to similar changes elsewhere: “We belong to the Bengaluru district. Every place name has its own history. Why was Madras renamed as Chennai? Gulbarga was renamed Kalaburagi. We too have our own aspirations. What problem do they have with that?”
Clarifying the scope of the name change, he added, “The parliamentary constituency was earlier called Kanakapura. Why was it later changed to Bangalore Rural? We are not changing the name of Ramanagara town. Ramanagara will continue to be the district headquarters. We are only changing the name of the district.”
Addressing claims that the renaming aims to inflate land prices, Shivakumar said, “Yes, we want our people to benefit. Let every farmer see their land value rise. Let youth get jobs and investors come from across the country. It is about progress.”
