Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday recommended renaming the Namma Metro to 'Basava Metro' to honour the 12th-century social reformer Basavanna. 

Addressing a public gathering, CM Siddaramaiah said that he would forward the proposal to the Central government.

In a post on X, CM Siddaramaiah said if it were entirely a state government project, he would have declared it as such immediately.

"I will recommend to the central government to name our metro as "Basava Metro." If this were entirely a state government project, I would have announced it as "Basava Metro" today itself. We have many castes and many religions among us. In the Chaturvarna system, we are placed in the fourth position," he said.

ನಮ್ಮ ಮೆಟ್ರೋಗೆ "ಬಸವ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ" ಎಂದು ನಾಮಕರಣ ಮಾಡುವ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ಕೇಂದ್ರಕ್ಕೆ ಶಿಫಾರಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಇದು ಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಯೋಜನೆ ಆಗಿದ್ದರೆ ಇವತ್ತೇ "ಬಸವ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ" ಎಂದು ಘೋಷಿಸಿ ಬಿಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದೆ. ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿ ಅನೇಕ ಜಾತಿ, ಅನೇಕ‌ ಧರ್ಮಗಳಿವೆ. ಚಾತುವರ್ಣ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾಲ್ಕನೇ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿ ಇರುವವರು ನಾವು. ಶೂದ್ರರು ಜಾತಿ... twitter/k5yUD34UaA

- Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) October 5, 2025

Stating that he has been an admirer of Basavanna, CM Siddaramaiah said,“My belief is that Basava's principles are eternal and relevant--not just in the past, not just today, but forever. Basavanna preached coexistence and tolerance throughout his life, and I follow this as well. On the day of Basava Jayanti, when I took the oath as Chief Minister, I resolved to fulfil Basavanna's aspirations of providing equal opportunities for all to live.”

The Chief Minister underlined the government's initiatives inspired by Basavanna's principles.

"Through numerous welfare schemes and guarantees, I have ensured opportunities for the poor of all castes and religions. For this very reason, I have made it mandatory to place Basavanna's portrait in all government offices. By declaring him the cultural leader of Karnataka, the entire government has paid tribute to Basavanna," he said. 

Tracing his personal connection with Basavanna, Siddaramaiah said,“Since my days as a law student, I have been a follower of Basavanna. Dr. Ambedkar, too, reflected Basavanna's aspirations in his Constitution. Thus, the Constitution and the Sharana culture are one and the same. Our government is conducting a campaign to read the preamble of the Constitution.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)

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