Renaming of Ramanagara part of 'land mafia' conspiracy: Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje

Mangaluru (Karnataka): Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Friday alleged that the renaming of Ramanagara district as Bengaluru South is part of a “larger land mafia conspiracy” aimed at real estate gains in and around the state capital.

The Karnataka cabinet on Thursday approved the renaming of the neighbouring Ramanagara district as ‘Bengaluru South’.

Ramanagara, about 50 km from Bengaluru, will remain the headquarters of the renamed district, which will also include Magadi, Kanakapura, Channapatna, and Harohalli taluks.

Speaking to reporters in Sullia, Karandlaje claimed the name change was “politically motivated” and intended to facilitate land acquisition from farmers to hand it over to builders and layout developers.

“This is a well-orchestrated ploy to benefit land mafias by tagging peripheral regions as Bengaluru,” she claimed.

Ramanagara, now renamed, is the home district of D K Shivakumar, the state Congress chief.

He represents the Kanakapura Assembly constituency in the district and had first proposed renaming the district as Bengaluru South.

Karandlaje also criticised the Congress-led state government for allegedly shutting down Jan Aushadhi centres operating inside hospital premises, accusing it of colluding with private pharmaceutical lobbies.

“These centres offer medicines at highly subsidised rates—sometimes at one-tenth the market price. The decision to shut them down is an anti-poor move,” she alleged.

Karandlaje warned that both moves—the district renaming and the closure of Jan Aushadhi centres—deserve public resistance and called on local citizens to protest.

Jan Aushadhi centres, part of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP), are government-subsidised outlets that provide affordable, quality generic medicines to reduce out-of-pocket healthcare expenses.