Bengaluru: Chief minister Siddaramaiah Friday said his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis should take up with the Centre his objections to Karnataka’s proposal to rename an upcoming Metro station near Shivajinagar in the city.“Let him (Fadnavis) speak to the Union govt. We will send (recommendation on renaming) to them (Centre); let him speak to them,” Siddaramaiah told reporters in response to questions about Fadnavis’ criticism of the Karnataka govt’s plan to rename the Metro station after St Mary, which he had termed an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.The Karnataka CM had expressed support for renaming the station after St Mary during his visit to the annual feast at St Mary’s Basilica on Sep 8, announcing that his govt would forward the recommendation to the Union govt. The Metro station is part of Bengaluru’s under-construction Pink Line.His stance has sparked objections from the opposition BJP, which accused the Congress govt of appeasement politics. “The naming should not be based on any religion and we will oppose it,” opposition leader in the legislative council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy had said.State home minister G Parameshwara also questioned Fadnavis’ intervention. “Why is Fadnavis interested in Karnataka and Bengaluru’s matter all of a sudden? I don’t know. Decisions regarding naming Metro stations will be taken by the minister in-charge of Bengaluru development and deputy CM D K Shivakumar, as it is a matter related to Bengaluru,” he said.Some groups have also proposed renaming the Metro station after late Kannada actor Shankar Nag, widely credited with conceptualising Bengaluru’s rapid transit network in the 1980s.
