Karnataka govt approves renaming of Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South
Bengaluru, May 22 (PTI): The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday approved the renaming of neighbouring Ramanagara district as 'Bengaluru South'.
Ramanagara, about 50 kms from here, will remain as the headquarters of the renamed district, which will also consist of Magadi, Kanakapura, Channapatna and Harohalli taluks.
"We have checked the rules, regulations and acts and amendments. Ramanagara was originally a Bengaluru district, today in the cabinet it was decided to name it as the Bengaluru South district. Order regarding this will be issued. This is happy news for the Bengaluru South district," Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters, he said, there will be no change in Ramanagara functioning as the headquarters of the district, and it will continue.
"Notification will be issued and the necessary process will follow. There will be no financial implication from this decision... all land records and everything will be changed. I'm also here-on from the Bengaluru South district" he added.
Ramanagara, which has now been renamed, is the home district of Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress chief.
He represents Kanakapura Assembly constituency in the district, and had first mooted the proposal to rename the district as Bengaluru South.
Noting that Ramanagara district was earlier part of Bengaluru district, the Deputy CM said, Bengaluru city, Bengaluru rural were all part of Bengaluru district earlier, including -- Hosakote, Devanahalli, Doddaballapura, Channapatna, Ramanagara, Magadi, and Kanakapura taluks.
"We (current Ramanagara district people) are trying to save our Bengaluru identity. This region is developing," he said, adding that the cabinet decided on the Bengaluru South district name within the framework of law.
To a question whether the Centre had opposed the cabinet's earlier decision in this regard, Shivakumar said, nothing, the central government has no powers on this issue.
"Informing the Centre was mandatory, that's all. There was some politics and some attempts were made (to oppose), but it is our right, it is a state subject," he said, noting that centre's approval was not sought when other districts were renamed earlier, including when the name Ramanagara was given to this district.
Responding to a question on opposition's criticism that development won't happen from name change, Shivakumar said, "let them wait and see."
Union Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy was the Chief Minister of the JD(S)-BJP coalition, when Ramanagara district was carved out in August 2007.
Kumaraswamy had earlier threatened to go on a protest if the Karnataka government decides to go-ahead with the proposal to rename the district.
Ramanagara district had been the political turf of JD(S) and Kumaraswamy as he had earlier represented Ramanagara and Channapatna Assembly segments, and also had been an MP from the region.
ರಾಮನಗರ ಇನ್ಮುಂದೆ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ!
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) May 22, 2025
ರಾಮನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಈ ಮೊದಲು ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ಗ್ರಾಮಾಂತರ ಎಂದಿತ್ತು. ನಂತರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆ ಎಂದಾಗಿತ್ತು. ರಾಮನಗರದ ಹೆಸರನ್ನು ಉಳಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕೆಂಬ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಕೆ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಶಾಸಕರುಗಳು ಸೇರಿ ತೀರ್ಮಾನ ಕೈಗೊಂಡು, ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯೆಂದು ಮರು ನಾಮಕರಣ ಮಾಡಲು ಸಂಪುಟದಲ್ಲಿ… pic.twitter.com/vE6DlMu4CR
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Rahul Gandhi should've been allowed to quote Naravane's 'memoir' in LS: Sharad Pawar
Baramati (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should have been allowed in the Lok Sabha to quote from an unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief MM Naravane.
The controversy on the memoir, 'Four Stars of Destiny', centres on the events of the Indo-China stand-off in 2020.
A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief Naravane, but Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly opposed it and accused the Congress leader of "misleading" the House.
Pawar said Gandhi "should have been allowed" to speak on the subject in Parliament during the Budget session.
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"If the former Army chief has written something and if the leader of the opposition is saying something, then it is his (Gandhi's) right and he should have been given that opportunity," the Rajya Sabha member said at a press conference in Baramati.
He said that an atmosphere of suspicion should not prevail unnecessarily in the country.
"The former Army chief has written something in the book which shows there was some concerning situation. If a discussion had taken place in Parliament on the issue, people could have got a clear picture," Pawar said.
Though the book is unpublished, Gandhi held a copy of it and the Lok Sabha speaker asked to authenticate the copy, he noted. "Why was there opposition (to Gandhi) when the copy was authenticated?" Pawar asked.
Gandhi on Wednesday cited the unpublished "memoir" to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil his responsibility during the India-China conflict in 2020 and passed the buck on to Naravane.
Addressing reporters in the premises of Parliament House complex, Gandhi held up Naravane's unpublished "memoir" and said he would like the youngsters in India to know that this 'book' exists despite the government claiming otherwise.
He said Naravane has written the full account of what happened in Ladakh.
Gandhi has also written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, lodging his strong protest over being disallowed from speaking in the House on a matter of national security and terming it a "blot on our democracy".
He has also said that it was for the first time in history that LoP was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
