Maharashtra to urge Centre to rename IIT-Bombay as IIT-Mumbai, says CM Fadnavis

Maharashtra Chief Minister CM Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the state government will write to Prime Minister PM Narendra Modi and the Union Education Ministry urging them to change the name of IITBombay to IITMumbai reported PTIHis remarks come amid a political row triggered by Union Minister Jitendra Singhrsquos comments on the institutersquos nomenclatureSpeaking at an IITBombay event on Monday Singh had said ldquoThank God itrsquos still called IIT Bombay and not Mumbairdquo drawing criticism from MNS chief Raj Thackeray who said the remark reflected the Centrersquos mindsetResponding to the issue in Nagpur Fadnavis stressed that the BJP has consistently supported the use of ldquoMumbairdquo over ldquoBombayrdquo noting that former BJP leader Ram Naik played a key role in the cityrsquos official name change in 1995ldquoWe always say Mumbai not Bombay I will write to the Prime Minister and the education minister to change the name of IIT Bombay to IIT Mumbairdquo he saidThackeray sharpening his Marathi identity pitch ahead of the Mumbai civic polls warned that attempts were being made to ldquoseparate Mumbai from MaharashtrardquoIn a post on X he alleged a ldquoquiet bidrdquo to bring Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region under control and link them to GujaratldquoPeople of Mumbai and all Marathi folks in the MMR should open their eyes The name lsquoMumbairsquo bothers them because it comes from Mumbadevi the cityrsquos original goddessrdquo he wroteThe MNS chief compared the situation to the Centrersquos attempt to ldquowrestrdquo Chandigarh from Punjab warning that similar efforts could be underway in MumbaiMeanwhile MNS workers put up a banner outside IITBombay ldquorenamingrdquo it as IITMumbai Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya also said the state government would formally propose the name change and urged that the Bombay High Court be renamed as the Mumbai High CourtMumbai officially renamed from Bombay in 1995 to honour goddess Mumbadevi and shed colonial associations continues to see political debates over its nomenclatureTen lakh jobs at Vadhavan Port locals to benefit first Maharashtra CM FadnavisMaharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said that local residents will be given priority in employment at the upcoming Vadhavan Port in Palghar districtHe warned that any attempt to deny them their ldquorightful employmentrdquo would not be tolerated reported the PTISpeaking at election rallies in Dahanu and Palghar ahead of the December 2 local body polls CM Fadnavis said the mega port project will generate 10 lakh jobsldquoVadhavan Port will be one of the top ports in the world and the first of its kind in Indiardquo he saidCM Fadnavis added that authorities have been instructed to ensure these jobs go primarily to local youthldquoFiftysix companies have already signed agreements and started training programmesrdquo he said emphasising that he would personally intervene if locals were overlooked as per the PTIThe Rs 76200crore greenfield project being developed in two phases by Vadhvan Port Project Ltd VPPL will include nine container terminals four multipurpose berths liquid cargo berths a RoRo berth and a coast guard berthAddressing concerns raised by local fishermen the Chief Minister said the project would not harm their livelihood He assured them of a modern fishing harbour upgraded boats and support for deepsea and traditional fishingWith PTI inputs