Maharashtra govt unhappy with Union ministers remark on IIT Bombay name, House told

nagpur: the maharashtra government is “not happy” with a recent remark by union minister of state for science and technology jitendra singh opposing any change in the name of iit bombay to iit mumbai, state minister ashish shelar told the legislative council on saturday.replying to a question raised by shiv sena (ubt) member anil parab, shelar, who holds the cultural affairs portfolio, said the state government has formally conveyed its position to the centre. “the government is not just unhappy, it has written a letter to the centre expressing its opinion on the matter,” he said.the issue arose after singh, while addressing a function in the last week of november, remarked that iit bombay had retained its name and had not been changed to iit mumbai, adding that a similar situation existed with iit madras. the statement triggered political reactions in maharashtra, with maharashtra navnirman sena (mns) chief raj thackeray criticising the remark and calling it reflective of the government's mindset.chief minister devendra fadnavis later stated that the state government would write to prime minister narendra modi and the union education ministry seeking a change in the institute's name to iit mumbai.raising the issue in the upper house, parab said the union minister's comment had hurt maharashtra's pride and sought clarity on the state government's stand. responding, shelar said the government's position was unequivocal. “for maharashtra, it is not 'bombay' but 'mumbai'. the government is not happy with that particular statement,” he said.mumbai, the capital of maharashtra, was officially renamed from bombay in 1995 to honour the local deity mumbadevi and to move away from colonial-era nomenclature. shelar reiterated that the state government's communication to the centre reflects this long-standing position.