The Kerala Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment to change the state’s name to “Keralam”, reported The Hindu.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan moved the resolution calling for invoking Article 3 of the Constitution to make amendments in the First Schedule, which lists the names of the states.
In August 2023, the Kerala Assembly passed a similar resolution, but the Centre had sent it back due to procedural gaps.
Through the previous resolution, the state had sought to change the names in all languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution to “Keralam”. However, after advice from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the state government modified the resolution.
On Monday, Vijayan pointed out the state continues to be officially called Kerala despite “Keralam” being its name in Malayalam.
During the discussion in the House, N Samsudheen, an MLA from the Indian Union Muslim League, proposed an amendment in the resolution to prevent rejection from the Centre, but his suggestion was turned down. He had demanded action against officials responsible for the oversight in the original resolution.
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