BJP Minister Nitesh Rane Visits Mumbra in Thane, Demands Suburb Be Renamed Mumbra Devi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Nitesh Rane visited the Mumbra suburb in Thane on Sunday to participate in the Kanwar Yatra. Following his visit to the area, Rane described the locality as the "land of Mahadev" and reiterated his ongoing demand to officially rename Mumbra as Mumbra Devi.

Dressed in an orange outfit, Rane stated that he attended the religious procession on behalf of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to convey a message directly to the people living in Mumbra. During his address, Rane asserted that the Hindu population in the suburb should increase and called for more members of the community to settle in the area.

Amid the ongoing debate over the proposed name change, Rane urged people to begin referring to the area as Mumbra Devi instead of Mumbra. He stated that the locality is part of a Hindu Rashtra.

Rane also spoke out regarding concerns that were raised ahead of his appearance in the locality. He remarked that following reports of his scheduled arrival that surfaced the night before, several individuals felt he should avoid traveling to Mumbra. In response, Rane maintained that people should recognize the suburb as Mumbra Devi.

During his speech, Rane offered assurances to local residents, emphasizing that nobody should be compelled to vacate the area. He stated that the city and country belonged to them and added that no one should contemplate driving residents away or stripping away the rights of Mumbra Devi.

Rane has been actively advocating for the renaming of the Thane suburb since earlier in the week. His latest remarks come in the wake of other municipal and regional name changes across Maharashtra, such as the renaming of Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv.