Thiruvananthapuram: Nearly a year after the State Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging the Centre to amend the Constitution and change the state’s name from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’, the Assembly passed the resolution again on Monday with minor corrections. The revised resolution was needed after the Centre returned the earlier one, highlighting the need for corrections.
The resolution, introduced by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, called for necessary measures under Article 3 of the Constitution to officially change the state’s name to ‘Keralam’ in the First Schedule of the Constitution. IUML MLA N Shamsudheen proposed an amendment to clarify the wording, but the House rejected this amendment.
The initial resolution to change the state’s name was unanimously passed on August 9 last year, requesting the Centre to update the state’s name to ‘Keralam’ in the First Schedule and in all languages listed under the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
However, upon further review, it was determined that the amendment was only required in the First Schedule. This led to the introduction of the new resolution, as explained by the Chief Minister.
In the resolution, Chief Minister Vijayan noted that ‘Keralam’ is the name commonly used in Malayalam, whereas the state is officially referred to as ‘Kerala’ in records. This discrepancy prompted the resolution.
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