Bengaluru: Congress MLC D. Thimmaiah on Saturday October 8 slammed the Railway Ministry and the Centre for renaming the Tipu Express as the Wadiyar Express. Speaking to mediapersons he criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government for allegedly dividing society in the name of religion.

“It is an unfortunate move and cannot be accepted. Such politics in the name of religion should not be used by national parties like the BJP. It is a mean act. The government changed the name, though there was no demand from the public.” He asserted that they did it to incite hatred among religions.

Speaking further he said, “There were many trains that had no names. The government should have renamed other trains after the former Mysuru royal family, rather than renaming Tipu Express.” He urged that the BJP government should launch initiatives to address issues like unemployment, rising prices, Dalit protection, and farmer security.