Bengaluru:The Karnataka government is contemplating renaming Ramanagara district as “Nava Bengaluru” perhaps on the lines of Navi Mumbai in a bid to attract investment to the state. District in-charge minister and deputy chief minister C.N. Ashwath Narayana disclosed the idea three days back and since then, a controversy has erupted over the renaming with former CM and JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy stiffly opposing the move.

Ramanagara city, the district headquarters of Ramanagara district, is 50 km from Bengaluru and the district was created when H.D. Kumaraswamy was CM in 2007. This district is situated on the route to Mysuru and those who are familiar with Bollywood, know very well that the iconic movie Sholay was shot  in Ramanagara with the place named Ramgarh in the film.

Dr Narayana, while proposing the renaming, felt Bengaluru city was too crowded and there were infrastructure problems here with investors continuing to flock to the IT City without choosing Tier-II cities proposed by the state government.

However, the proposal was given the thumbs down by former CM Kumaraswamy who threatened to launch an agitation if the district was renamed Nava Bengaluru. He took to Twitter to condemn the government move and said that just by renaming the district, the destiny of Ramanagara and its people will not change. He also said that development programmes planned for the district should be implemented first. “If the government goes ahead with its plan, it will have to face the consequences as people will launch an agitation. For the sake of real estate interests, the government should not indulge in this as the district has a rich heritage and history,” he said Sunday morning.

Meanwhile, chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa said Sunday afternoon that his government has not taken any decision in this regard.