A proposal to name a new bridge across the Salween River in Mon State after Burma’s independence hero, General Aung San, was accepted for discussion by Parliament’s Lower House on Tuesday.

Mi Kon Chan, the National League for Democracy lawmaker in the lower chamber representing Mon State’s Paung Township, on Tuesday put forward the naming motion, a controversial proposition previously withdrawn amid opposition by local members of the public and civil society groups.

Earlier this month, the Mon State regional government decided to name it Yamanya Bridge, after pushback from locals against the initially proposed name, Aung San Bridge.

[related]

The bridge, which is still under construction, will connect the townships of Moulmein and Chaungzon when it is completed.

The proposal by Mi Kon Chan during Tuesday’s legislative session was opposed by two other MPs, also NLD representatives, but Lower House Speaker Win Myint decided to approve it for discussion at a later date as there were no other voices in opposition.

The former chief minister of Mon State, Min Min Oo, who recently resigned from his post, said the contentious debate over the naming of the bridge was part of the reason for his departure.