'Won't Be Surprised If It's Named After Tipu Sultan': Tejasvi Surya On Plans To Rename Bengaluru Metro

Last Updated:October 13, 2025, 21:43 IST

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya took a swipe at Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and said he should first decide which community he wants to appease in his bid to rename the Bengaluru Metro

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said Siddaramaiah is the CM of the "most progressive city in the country" and people are not going to be swayed by "appeasement" politics. (Image: PTI/File)

Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya took a swipe at the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government and said the chief minister should first decide which community he wants to appease in his bid to rename the Bengaluru Metro, commonly known as “Namma Metro".

Siddaramaiah has announced that he will submit a proposal to the Centre to rename the Bangalore Metro Rail project as “Basava Metro", after 12th-century social reformer Basavanna.

On this, Tejasvi Surya said Siddaramaiah first responded to one community’s demand to name the Metro after Basavanna and, next, he will not be surprised if he tries to appease the Muslim community and rename it after Tipu Sultan. There are also reports that the prominent Vokkaliga community wants him to rename the Metro after Kempe Gowda, the founder of Bengaluru.

“I won’t be surprised if the next community Siddaramaiah tries to appease is the Muslim community, given his track record. I also won’t be surprised if he goes to an event of the Muslim community and says the Bengaluru Metro will be named after Tipu Sultan," Tejasvi told News18.

Tejasvi said Siddaramaiah is the chief minister of the “most progressive city in the country" and people are not going to be swayed by “appeasement" politics. He said the CM should pay more attention to the completion of the project rather than its renaming.

“The Metro was beautifully named Namma Metro. There is Valmiki in it, Kempe Gowda in it, Basavanna in it, there is even Jesus Christ – everybody is included," Tejasvi told News18. “Let Siddaramaiah first decide which community he wants to appease and then make his proposal. This round-robin of trying to name it differently in various places is very 1970s-style politics."

He added: “You are the Chief Minister of Bengaluru, the most progressive city in the country – people are not going to be swayed by this. What we need is more attention from the CM to ensure Metro lines are completed on time, rather than going around renaming it."

Siddaramaiah had announced his plans for the renaming of the Metro at the closing ceremony of the ‘Basava Culture Campaign-2025’, organised to commemorate the declaration of “Vishwaguru Basavanna" as the “Karnataka Cultural Leader." The event was attended by seers and spiritual leaders from various Lingayat maths.

“Metro project is by both the state and central government. Our (state) share may be more at 87 per cent, 13 per cent by the Centre, but still, without central government’s approval, we cannot do anything. I will place this proposal before the central government," Siddaramaiah had said, as reported by PTI. “You need not demand us to do things about Basavanna…if the project was entirely by our government, I would have given my approval now itself, but as it is the project jointly both by the state and the central government, I cannot give approval here. I will have to write to the Centre and seek their approval. Our government will look into it."

Rohini Swamy

Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t...Read More

Rohini Swamy, Associate Editor at News18, has been a journalist for nearly two decades in the television and digital space. She covers south India for News18’s digital platform. She has previously worked with t...

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News politics 'Won't Be Surprised If It's Named After Tipu Sultan': Tejasvi Surya On Plans To Rename Bengaluru Metro

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