Ramanagara to be renamed 'Bengaluru South', says DK Shivakumar

While speaking to the reporters after a cabinet meeting, DK Shivakumar stated, "From today, it has been announced in the cabinet that Ramanagara will be renamed Bangaluru South. All the headquarters will be in Ramanagara".

"Today, the entire cabinet had a discussion. I am very happy to announce that Ramanagara district was a part of Bangaluru district, the headquarters will remain in Ramanagara, but the district will be called Bangaluru South for all administrative purposes..."

Meanwhile, on his earlier reported statement regarding "wedding gift" by State's Home Minister G Parameshwara to gold smuggling case accused, actor Ranya Rao, Shivakumar said, "It is not a controversy. Why should it be a controversy? I just checked with Dr G Parameshwara. He said that there were some weddings and he gave it at the time of those weddings. That is what I know...She may be an accused, it is a crores of Rupees scandal. We don't want to interfere with or support anyone. G Parameshwara never supported anyone at any point in time. She is known to an officer who was working with him, I think he might have helped her on the occasion of the wedding, in the form of giving her a gift or something. That is what I asked him. As the party president, I had to ask him that..."

Earlier in the day, G Parameshwara asserted that he is "prepared to cooperate" with whatever the outcome of the probe.

"Yesterday, ED officers visited our institutions--Siddhartha Institute of Technology, Siddhartha Medical College at Tumkur, Siddhartha Medical College at Begur and Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education. I instructed my staff to cooperate with them and give whatever information they asked for...They questioned our accounts section. The search is still going on," G Parameshwara said.

"Being a person who believes in the law of the country, whatever comes out of the verification or search, I am prepared to cooperate," he said.

Parameshwara refused to comment when asked about the reports linking these searches to the Actor Ranya Rao gold smuggling case."I don't want to comment at this point in time. Let the investigation be completed," he said.

Ranya Rao was arrested on March 3 at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport after officials from the DRI found her carrying gold.

On Tuesday, the Economic Offences Court granted conditional bail to the Kannada actor in the smuggling case. (ANI)