Gujrat: Government All Set to Rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati

Guwahati: Following the footprints of Uttar Pradesh, the BJP government in Gujarat has now expressed its desire in renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati.

The government on Tuesday said it’s keen on rechristening Ahmedabad as Karnavati if there are no legal hurdles. The development comes after the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government renamed Allahabad and Faizabad as Prayagaraj and Ayodhya, respectively.

Responding to a query by the media on the demand for changing the name of Ahmedabad to Karnavati, Deputy CM of Gujrat , Nitin Patel said, “People’s feelings are there, and were there earlier also, to change the name to Karnavati. We are always ready to do that if we get enough support to overcome legal hurdles. Karnavati has been in use in numerous ways and people are used to it. People of Gujarat and people of Amdavad like the name. So, it can always be considered.”

Taking a toll on the BJP government over the issue, state unit Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said the promise to rename Ahmedabad was just another “poll gimmick” by the ruling party.

Doshi, further said, “For the BJP, issues like construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya and renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati are the means to get votes of Hindus,”. He also added that “BJP leaders dump such issues after coming to power. They only cheated Hindus all these years,”.

Historically, the area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 11th century, when it was known as Ashaval. Chaulukya ruler Karna of Anhilwara (modern Patan) had waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval and established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati river. Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 A.D. had laid the foundation of a new walled city near Karnavati and named it Ahmedabad after the four saints in the area by the name Ahmed.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the eve of Diwali announced that Faizabad district would henceforth be known as Ayodhya.

“Ayodhya is a symbol of our ‘aan, baan aur shaan’ (honour, pride and prestige),” Adityanath said in Ayodhya.

However, Yogi Adityanath‘s announcement to rename Faizabad to Sri Ayodhya was slammed by the opposition. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called the decision as “Tughlaqi“, the Communist Party of India (CPI) described it as “a ploy to cover up its failure in governance”.

Taking a dig at Adityanath, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the chief minister should first change his name to Ajay Singh Bisht if he is so “fond” of changing names. “The opinion of the local residents of a place should be taken before changing its name. India is a democratic country. It’s a ‘Tughlaqi’ decision,” he said.

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