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Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad has backed CM Siddaramaiah’s proposal to name the metro station after the 250-year-old St Mary’s Basilica, saying there is nothing wrong with it
The newly-inaugurated Yellow Line metro train of the Bangalore Metro Rail arrives at a station, in Bengaluru, Karnataka. (PTI Photo)
As a controversy brews in Karnataka over the naming of a metro station in Bengaluru, Shivajinagar MLA Rizwan Arshad, in whose constituency the station falls, says there is nothing wrong with naming it after St Mary’s.
Arshad spoke to News18 on the issue and said that St Mary’s Basilica is a 250-year-old church, a very prominent structure in the area, and that thousands of people visit it frequently.
The station name row ignited when Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stirred a political storm at a special event held as part of the St Mary’s feast, where he said that a proposal to name Bengaluru’s Shivajinagar Metro Station as ‘St Mary Metro Station’ is being seriously considered.
Siddaramaiah, speaking at the annual feast of St Mary’s Basilica on September 8, said that if the MLA of the constituency also recommends it, a proposal will be sent to the Central government.
Arshad, who is the MLA, endorsed the proposal, telling News18: “As an MLA, I understand that Shivajinagar is the area and Saint Mary’s Basilica is also a historical place, so I want to propose it as Shivajinagar Saint Mary’s Station. If the BJP has an objection, then they should object to everything — including other metro stations where names of religious heads have been given, like Bal Gangadhar Nath Swamiji, Hoshalli Metro Station name.”
He also said that he would be formally drafting a letter proposing to name the metro station ‘Shivajinagar St Mary Metro Station’. The station is located close to the Basilica and the Shivajinagar bus depot, and it is part of the under-construction Pink Line of the Bengaluru Metro.
“Like several other religious places, this is also iconic, and when we name it the way we have proposed, people will understand the significance and also acknowledge it. The BJP can object to anything, but they should also think before they object,” the MLA told News18.
The controversy has also triggered a social media buzz, with some citizens demanding that the station be named after the late Kannada actor-director Shankar Nag instead. To this, Arshad responded: “We have no problem. There are 500 metro stations coming up in Bengaluru city. We will name one of them Shankar Nagar also. He is an icon,” said the MLA.
If the naming proposal wasn’t enough, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also waded into the controversy, attacking the Karnataka Congress government and saying: “The Karnataka government’s decision to rename the metro rail is an insult to the great warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who is highly revered across the country and the world.”
Arshad questioned where the insult lay. “The biggest insult is naming Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminal after Adani in Maharashtra. That is disrespectful towards Shivaji Maharaj. The BJP and Maharashtra CM are playing unnecessary politics. But they don’t understand the significance of this name,” he said.
Fadnavis further lashed out at the Siddaramaiah government, saying: “I can only hope that God gives good sense to the Congress government in Karnataka and that they don’t make such a mistake of renaming Shivajinagar Metro Rail Station St Mary. Such a move would be detrimental for society and promote enmity amongst people.”
The political war of words had only just begun when others, too, chimed in. The BJP in Karnataka called it appeasement politics and challenged the Congress to name the station after Shankar Nag, whose contribution to the state has been immense.
“Bengaluru will have hundreds more stations as part of the metro. We acknowledge the legend Shankar Nag; we can surely name a station after him,” said the Shivajinagar MLA.
He also questioned why the BJP opposes every time something is done for the minority community. “This country is not owned by the BJP. This country has a shared history, shared legacy, shared culture, and it belongs to everybody. It is not the BJP’s personal property that they object to each and everything. Then we’ll come out with a uniform formula to take out the names of all religious significance. There will be more than 500 stations; we can accommodate everybody,” he said.
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… Read More
September 12, 2025, 11:11 IST
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