Willing to use Kannada name for GBA, says DCM Shivakumar: Asks citizens to suggest alternatives
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has clarified that the Karnataka government, which faced criticism for renaming the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) in English and not Kannada, was open to changing ‘Greater Bengaluru Authority’ (GBA), the new name of BBMP.
Pointing out that critics had taken objection to the use of the word ‘Greater’ in the new name, the DCM said on Wednesday that many had opined that the word could have been avoided. Shivakumar also welcomed suggestions from citizens to rename the GBA in Kannada, according to a report in Deccan Herald.
He also admitted that Kannada being the mother tongue and the language of administration in the state, the government did not wish to ignore the language. The government was willing to rename the Authority in Kannada if a better word was found. He also cited the examples of authorities in other places, including Mumbai, opting to rename government bodies in the local language.
The BBMP board was replaced with that of the GBA late Tuesday night, after which, some social media users argued against the use of an English word in the name of the GBA.
Some other netizens, however, said that the word ‘Greater’ reflected the global stature of Bengaluru, and pointed out that cities like Chennai and Hyderabad also used the word.
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
