Sena corporator demands renaming of Malabar Hill as Ram Nagari

A Shiv Sena corporator has demanded that the posh Malabar Hill area in south Mumbai be renamed as 'Ram Nagari'.

Dilip Lande, a corporator from Kurla, said Friday that that the current name is English and must be changed. He also claimed that Lord Ram had stayed in this area during his exile.

He has moved a resolution making this demand, which will be discussed by the general body of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on December 13, he said.

Lande had raised the same demand in 2013, during his previous term.

"Everyone knows that Lord Ram and Laxman had stayed in the area for some time during his exile," he said.

Further, Malabar Hill is an English name and hence it must be changed, Lande said.

The area houses Maharashtra chief minister's official residence 'Varsha'. It is also home to several industrialists and film actors.

The BJP government in Uttar Pradesh recently renamed Allahabad as Prayagraj. The party's government in Gujarat too said that it was willing to rename Ahmedabad as Karnavati.