PIL challenges plan to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati

The Gujarat High Court Wednesday asked a petitioner, who has challenged proposed renaming of Ahmedabad as Karnavati, to find out from the state government if there was any further development in this regard.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Anant Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav was hearing a petition filed by Hetvi Sancheti.

The court asked her to find out what steps the government has taken for the proposed renaming.

Sancheti has sought the court's intervention to prevent the government from renaming the city, contending that its existing name holds significance as a "cultural heritage of the people of Ahmedabad".

The name Ahmedabad is "deeply embedded in the cultural identities of Amdavadis irrespective of creed, caste and religion," she said, claiming that the renaming is being undertaken with the "ulterior motive of vote-bank politics".

The UNESCO has nominated Ahmedabad as a World heritage City, the petition pointed out.

The government, while talking about its willingness to change the name, did not conduct any referendum, Sancheti said.

The court should restrain the state government from changing the name to Karnavati, and "recognise the name of the city of Ahmedabad" as "intangible cultural heritage," said the plea.

On November 8, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani had said that his government was considering renaming Ahmedabad as Karnavati, possibly before the Lok Sabha elections.

Rupani's statement came days after the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh announced renaming Allahabad as Prayagraj and Faizabad as Ayodhya.