- By Priyanka Koul
- Wed, 02 Jul 2025 07:14 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a move that sparked political reactions, the Karnataka cabinet has approved the renaming of Bengaluru City University after former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The decision, announced officially on Wednesday, drew sharp criticism from the opposition BJP, with its senior leader R Ashoka alleging that the Congress party “hates Bangalore.”
“Congress hates Bangalore. That’s why they are renaming Bengaluru City University as Manmohan Singh University,” said Ashoka, who also serves as the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly.
Dr Manmohan Singh, who served as India’s Prime Minister for a decade and was a key architect of the country's economic liberalisation, passed away at the age of 92 in December 2024. The renaming plan, according to the government, is meant to honour his significant contributions to India’s economic and political landscape.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had first proposed the renaming in his budget speech on March 7, 2025, where he announced that the university would be known as Dr Manmohan Singh Bengaluru City University. This makes it the first university in India to be named after the late Prime Minister.
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The institution, originally established in 2017 as Bengaluru Central University and renamed Bengaluru City University in 2020, will now undergo its second name change under the Congress-led state government. As part of the restructuring, Government Arts College and Government RC College will become constituent colleges of the university.
Apart from the university’s renaming, the Karnataka government also approved additional changes to place names. The Bangalore Rural district will now be officially called Bangalore North District, and Bagepalli taluk will be renamed Bhagya Nagar.
Commenting on these changes, CM Siddaramaiah said, “We have declared Bangalore Rural District as Bangalore North. We have changed Bagepalli to Bhagyanagar.”
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says, "We have declared Bangalore Rural District as Bangalore North. We have changed Bagepalli to Bhagyanagar."
— ANI (@ANI) July 2, 2025
The decisions come amid a broader effort by the Congress government to pay tribute to leaders it considers central to the nation’s development, though the move has clearly drawn political fire from the opposition.