'Rename Mumbai Central Railway Station after Babasaheb Ambedkar', suggests Union Minister Ramdas Athawale

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Friday suggested that Mumbai Central railway station should be renamed after the principal architect of the Constitution of India Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. In a statement issued on Friday, the Union minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment said that he would soon meet Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to submit this demand.

"Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar had spent a lot of time in Mumbai and led several social movements conceptualized by him. It will be appropriate to name Mumbai Central station after him," Union Minister Athawale said.

"Dalits welcomed the renaming of Mumbai International Airport and Victoria Terminus after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We would also be happy if Babasaheb's name is given to Mumbai Central railway station," he added.

Read: 'Changing Name Won't Help Train Come On Time', BJP's Motormouth Minister Takes A Jibe At His Own Party

Earlier in July this year, the Western Railway rechristened the Elphinstone Road station as Prabhadevi. The WR had issued a notification to this effect in Mumbai after which the station, which was named after Lord Elphinstone, the Governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860, was changed in honour of a local deity.

"The notification about the renaming of the station has been issued and steps are being taken to make necessary changes, including updating it in our system," the chief public relations officer of the WR, Ravinder Bhakar had said.

It was Shiv Sena which had first made the demand to rename some suburban stations in Mumbai arguing they carried "colonial" names. In December last year, the Maharashtra legislature had approved a Bill to rename the Elphinstone Road station, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) and the Mumbai airport.

(With inputs from PTI)