Ahmedabad: On the same day when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced the renaming of Faizabad district as Ayodhya, the Gujarat government on Tuesday said it was keen on rechristening Ahmedabad as Karnavati, if there were no legal hurdles and receive required support.

Speaking to media persons in Gandhinagar, deputy chief minister Nitin Patel said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government was willing to change Ahmedabad’s name if it gets past the legal hurdles and receives required support.

“People are still having a feeling that Ahmedabad should be renamed as Karnavati. If we get required support to overcome the legal hurdles, we are always ready to change the name of the city,” Patel told reporters when asked if the state government had a plan to rename India’s only city having the ‘World Heritage’ tag.

Historically, the area around Ahmedabad has been inhabited since the 11th century, when it was known as Ashaval.

Chaulukya ruler Karna of Anhilwara (modern Patan) had waged a successful war against the Bhil king of Ashaval and established a city called Karnavati on the banks of the Sabarmati river.

Sultan Ahmed Shah in 1411 A.D. had laid the foundation of a new walled city near Karnavati and named it Ahmedabad after the four saints in the area by the name Ahmed.
“We can think of changing the name at an appropriate time,” Patel added.