The Centre has rejected Madhya Pradesh government's proposal to rename the state capital as Bhojpal, after the great warrior king Raja Bhoj of Parmar dynasty.

Officials said here on Monday that the Centre had on Sunday announced changes in names of 25 towns and cities across the country but rejected the move to change the name of Bhopal.

The two towns in Madhya Pradesh whose renaming have been accepted are Mhow in the Indore district and Gotegaon in the Narsinghpur district.

While Gotegaon would now be known as Sridham, Mhow would henceforth be known as Ambedkar Nagar.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had proposed to change the name of Bhopal to Bhojpal while unveiling a statue of Raja Bhoj in the Upptar Lake during a function in March last year, a move that was opposed by majority.