The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a sharp rebuttal to Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednesday after his recent remarks targeting union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh over the continued use of the name “Bombay.”

The controversy erupted after Raj Thackeray posted a critical message on X, questioning why the name "Bombay" still appears in certain government communications. Responding swiftly, BJP’s media coordinator Nawanath Ban accused Raj Thackeray of engaging in politics based on baseless allegations rather than facts.

In a strongly worded statement, Ban asserted that the historical decision to officially rename Bombay as Mumbai was taken by the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government in Maharashtra. He further emphasized that it was senior BJP leader Ram Naik who secured the approval of the Central Government, ensuring that the name “Mumbai” was legally recognized across the country. Ban added that Ram Naik was also the first person to use the name "Mumbai" in the Indian Parliament, thereby establishing the new name at the national level.

According to Ban, Raj Thackeray was now demonstrating a “convenient memory lapse” about this political history.

The BJP spokesperson alleged that Raj’s changed tone was linked to his recent political proximity to Uddhav Thackeray. "It appears Raj Thackeray is forgetting his own long-held positions because he is preparing for an alliance with Uddhav Thackeray. Like Uddhavji, he too seems to be attempting a political U-turn," Ban said in his statement. He described Raj’s criticism as an attempt to shift the narrative rather than engage with factual history.

Ban also rejected Raj Thackeray’s repeated references to Gujarat in the context of development projects in Mumbai. He claimed that while the Central Government is implementing several large-scale infrastructure initiatives meant to transform Mumbai and the wider MMR region- such as the metro network, bullet train corridor, coastal road connectivity, and multimodal corridors- certain leaders were deliberately invoking Gujarat to provoke unnecessary fear and confusion among citizens. He described these attempts as the creation of a “bogus bogey” aimed at political mileage.

Terming such politics as “nauseating,” Ban stated that the people of Mumbai and Maharashtra were fully aware of ongoing development and would not be misled by what he called “fear-based narratives.” He expressed confidence that Marathi voters would reject those who frequently change their political stance and instead rally behind Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, whom he credited for pushing Maharashtra towards becoming the number-one state in the country.

The exchange has once again intensified the political debate in the state, especially as Mumbai heads towards crucial civic and state-level electoral battles. With alliances shifting and leaders sharpening their rhetoric, the name-change controversy has added yet another layer to Maharashtra’s increasingly heated political landscape.