Mysore: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pratap Simha has written to  Karnataka’s Forest Minister Umesh V Katti, requesting him to rename Rajiv Gandhi Nagarhole National Park to FM KM Cariappa Nagarhole National Park and Tiger Reserve “as a fitting tribute to remarkable and selfless service rendered by him while serving in the Indian Army”.


The BJP MP has in his letter stated that three out of 103 national parks in India, including the Nagarhole National Park and Tiger Reserve, are named after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.


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“Besides this, several other National Parks in the country bear the names of the Nehru-Gandhi family, which is an attempt to wrongfully appropriate inheritance of the projects of the Government of India aimed biodiversity conservation with the primary objective to preserve wildlife, save flora and fauna and restore the natural ecological balance,” he added.


The BJP MP further said that “an online campaign has been started by the citizens of Kodagu district that the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve be named after the illustrious son of the soil Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army”.


“FM Cariappa is credited to have laid the foundation for transforming the Indian Army as one of the most disciplined and battle-hardy units to ensure national security and national unity, to defend the nation from external aggression and internal threats, and to maintain peace and security within its borders,” he added.


Simha further said “Kodagu has the rare distinction of 20 serving Major Generals and four Air Marshals, which undoubtedly makes Kodagu the Land of Generals”.


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“The district has its own War Memorial with the names of all the martyred soldiers of Kodagu. A museum in the name of former Army Chief General Thimayya was inaugurated recently in Madikeri, and the Kodava legacy in the Army does not seem to end any sooner,” he added in the letter.