New Delhi, 11 August (H.S.):

The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill seeking to change the official name of Kerala to ‘Keralam’ by voice vote amid loud protests and disruptions in the House, without any substantive debate on the legislation.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai introduced the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, in the Lok Sabha amid the continuing din and briefly responded to the issues raised in the House. He alleged that some Congress MPs opposed the passage of the legislation.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, meanwhile, expressed regret after the bill was passed, saying that senior Congress leader KC Venugopal did not get an opportunity to speak on the legislation.

The development came as disruptions that have affected proceedings in the Lok Sabha for the past two weeks continued on Tuesday. Despite the persistent protests, the government proceeded with several items of legislative business in both Houses, including the bill concerning the renaming of Kerala.

In Malayalam, the state has traditionally been referred to as ‘Keralam’. The proposed legislation seeks to give official recognition to this linguistic and cultural identity by amending the First Schedule of the Constitution. Consequential changes would also be required in constitutional, administrative and other official documents relating to the state.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed a resolution on June 24, 2024, urging the Central government to initiate the necessary steps under Article 3 of the Constitution to amend the First Schedule and change the state's name from ‘Kerala’ to ‘Keralam’.

Under the provisions of Article 3, the President had referred the proposal to the Kerala state legislature for its views. The Kerala Assembly subsequently considered the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, in detail and passed it unanimously.

The bill will now move through the remaining parliamentary process before the proposed change can formally take effect.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar