Gujarat renames Dragonfruit ’Kamalam’ based on shape, twitter wonders if Banana will be next

Gujarat renames Dragonfruit ’Kamalam’ based on shape, twitter wonders if Banana will be next

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Jan 20, 2021:      The BJP-led government in Gujarat has inspired a bizarre new trend on Twitter after Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Tuesday that dragonfruit will henceforth be called ’Kamalam’ in the state.

 

According to Rupani, the decision was based on the shape of the dragonfruit which looks like a lotus flower. ’Kamalam’ is the Sanskrit word for lotus. Incidentally, the lotus is also the party symbol of BJP.

"We have applied for the patent of the Dragon fruit to be called as Kamalam. But as of now, we the Gujarat government have decided to call the fruit as Kamalam," Rupani said.

The CM further said that the word ’dragon’ did not describe the fruit appropriately, adding that the move was not politically driven.

"Even though the fruit is known as dragon fruit, it doesn’t sound appropriate. The word Kamalam is a Sanskrit word and the fruit does have the shape of the lotus, so we have decided to call it Kamalam, and there’s nothing political about it," Rupani said hile interacting with the media on Tuesday during the launch of the Chief Minister Horticulture Development Mission.

The move has led to several jokes and memes on Twitter. And some of them were hilarious. But the most bizarre trend was ’banana’. The word started trending on Twitter on Wednesday after news of the name change went viral. Applying the Gujarat government’s logic in changing the name of ’dragonfruit’ on the basis of its appearance, many wondered if banana would be next.

Wondering if they are planning to rename Banana and Oranges as well based on “Outer shape of the fruit” 🤣🤣🤦🏽‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/uAeF98POQy

— Rishi Shrivastava (@rishi_s01) January 20, 2021

The joke escaped no one and Twitter was soon filled with mischievous memes about bananas.

While announcing the name change, Gujarat CM added that the new name should not ’alarm’ anyone. According to him, the fruit has long since been grown as a form of cactus in the country. "Nobody has to be alarmed by the word Kamalam," Rupani added.

The state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar is also named ’Shri Kamalam’.