No proposal sent to Centre to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati: Gujarat CM

The Gujarat government has not sent any proposal to the Union government to rename Ahmedabad city as Karnavati in the last two years, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel informed the state legislative assembly on Friday.

Senior Congress MLA Amit Chavda during the Question Hour sought to know if any such proposal had been sent by the BJP government in the last two years and the Centre’s response to it. In a written reply, the chief minister, who handles the general administration department, said no renaming proposal had been sent in two years.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had announced in February that it would launch a campaign seeking the renaming of Ahmedabad as Karnavati.

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Some five years ago, then deputy chief minister Nitin Patel had said the BJP government was willing to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati if legal hurdles were removed.

In 2017, Ahmedabad became the first Indian city to be declared as a world heritage city by UNESCO. Historically, the area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 11th century when it was known as Ashaval.

Chalukya ruler Karna of Anhilwara (modern-day Patan) waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval and established a city called Karnavati on the banks of Sabarmati. Sultan Ahmed Shah laid the foundation of a new walled city near Karnavati in 1411 and named it Ahmedabad.

(With Agency inputs)