State to seek legal view on use of 'Mumbai'

Wed, May 14 03:10 AM

The Maharashtra Government on Tuesday said it planned to seek legal opinion on whether private entities could be forced to use 'Mumbai' in their names instead of 'Bombay', days after the Shiv Sena raised the demand and even blackened some boards which said 'Bombay'.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting at the office of the Director-General of Police, Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil said although the city's name had been legally changed to Mumbai from Bombay, some private entities and brands continued to persist with Bombay in their names. The state Government would ask the state Law and Judiciary Department for its opinion on whether this could be changed, he said and urged the Shiv Sena "not to hurry" in enforcing this.

The Sena's demand is seen as an attempt to outdo Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navanirman Sena, which has sought to portray itself as the voice of the locals and pull the rug from under its feet. In his Sunday column in the Sena's mouthpiece Saamna, Sena's Rajya Sabha MP and the newspaper's executive editor Sanjay Raut had attacked establishments and institutions which continued to use 'Bombay' in their title despite the city's name being changed to Mumbai during the rule of the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance.

Taking cue, Sena activists had blackened the boards of the Bombay Scottish School and showrooms of a textile brand and also burnt copies of a supplement of a national newspaper for using Bombay in its name.

Asked if the state was contemplating action against Raj Thackeray following a demand from the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission on Monday, Patil said he was unaware of the recommendations of the commission. However, the police had served Raj a notice to prevent him from inciting trouble, he added.

The meeting with top police officers also discussed Naxalite activities in the state, the law and order situation and rising road accidents. The police would seek the help of chartered accountants, besides depending on its intelligence network to crack down on economic crimes, Patil added.

RECOMMEND THIS STORY