Bengaluru: The Vishwa Vokkaligara Maha Vedike (R) has renewed its demand for renaming the Bengaluru Metro as Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Metro, urging Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to honour the commitment he had made nearly a decade ago.

The Vedike recalled that during the inauguration of the Nayandahalli Metro line on December 2, 2015, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, in the presence of then Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, had responded positively to a proposal by former minister and Vijayanagar MLA M. Krishnappa to name the metro after Bengaluru’s founder. The Chief Minister had “promised to consider the request with an open mind,” the Vedike said. However, recent statements by the Chief Minister have sparked criticism. At an event on October 4, at Palace Grounds, he reportedly suggested renaming the Metro as Basava Metro. Just three days later, he told the media the Metro should be named Valmiki Metro. The Vedike termed these contradictory statements as “diminishing the dignity of the Chief Minister’s office.”

“While Basavanna and Valmiki are revered figures, Kempegowda stands as the founder and architect of Bengaluru — a city that has earned global recognition today,” said Y.D. Ravishankar, President of Vishwa Vokkaligara Maha Vedike (R). He added that naming the Metro after Kempegowda would be most fitting, given the city’s economic contribution to the state. R. Ashwath Narayana Gowda, General Secretary of the Vedike, urged the government to “stand by the assurance given in 2015 and formally recommend to the Union Government that the Metro be renamed Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Metro, paying tribute to the visionary who built Bengaluru.”