The general council of Bhopal Municipal Corporation has put the lid, at least for the time being, on the controversial issue of renaming Bhopal as Bhojpal, in honour of the 11th century AD philosopher king of Malwa, by rejecting a resolution in support of this move through a majority decision backed to the hilt by the Congress corporators.
Mayor Krishna Gaur of the BJP even boycotted the House on Tuesday after she was unable to carry the resolution through on this vital issue. The resolution was defeated with 42 Congress corporators opposing it against 28 of the BJP who were determined to get the resolution passed.
The agenda to rename Bhopal has remained the BJP-led state government’s priority. Earlier this year, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had sought a proposal to rename Bhopal as Bhojpal during a special function held here to mark the millennium celebrations of Raja Bhoj’s coronation. The Cabinet sub-committee set up for the millennium celebration was officially briefed on May 18 that after receiving the proposal for renaming Bhopal from the district panchayat and municipal corporation the matter would be referred to the Central government for a final decision. The Cabinet sub-committee was also told that the whole process would be completed speedily.
There has been stiff resistance from a large number of Bhopal residents against efforts geared towards renaming Bhopal.