Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday that there is nothing new in calling Aurangabad Sambhajinagar. His statement came amid opposition from the Congress on the proposal to change the name of Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar. Sambhaji was the elder son of the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji.
When asked about the criticism of Congress and NCP on the Chief Minister's official Twitter handle mentioning Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar, Thackeray said what is new in it? We have been calling Aurangabad Sambhajinagar for years.
The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state includes the Shiv Sena as well as the NCP and Congress. Thackeray said that Aurangzeb was not secular. Secular is not a suitable word for him. The Shiv Sena chief was talking to reporters at his private residence Matoshree here. Earlier, two BJP leaders from Nashik were inducted into the Shiv Sena.
On the Chief Minister's statement, State Congress President Balasaheb Thorat said that changing the name of the city does not change the lives of the people. There is no development in it. We will make our Chief Minister aware of this trend. In 1995, Shiv Sena first sought to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar.
Is it a crime to use the name of Sambhaji Maharaj: Raut
A few days after the Congress's criticism of the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Office (CMO) referring to Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Friday questioned whether the use of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj's name in government documents Is a crime.
Raut described the use of the name Sambhajinagar as 'right' in the CMO's tweet. Shiv Sena has been demanding for the last few decades that Aurangabad be named Sambhajinagar. However, the party is now running the government in alliance with the Congress and the Congress is opposed to it.
Congress said - will strongly oppose
Balasaheb Thorat, a minister in the Maharashtra government and head of the Congress state unit, has made it clear that his party will strongly oppose the move to rename Aurangabad. Two days ago, the CMO of Maharashtra mentioned the city as Sambhajinagar in a tweet about the cabinet decision.
Thorat, however, objected to this, stating that the Directorate of Information and Dissemination should not change the name by itself and said that it should be remembered that official work is a legal document.
The government runs in the name of Chief Minister
When reporters asked Raut about this, he said that the government operates in the name of the Chief Minister. He asked whether it is a crime to use the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in government documents? It is connected to the feelings of the people and the government operates on the feelings of the people.
Raut said that Aurangabad city was named Sambhajinagar by Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. He said that it will remain so. When questioned on Congress's claim of not renaming the cities as part of the MVA government's Common Minimum Program (CMP) agenda, Raut said that the CMP is to ensure the welfare of the people.
Aurangzeb was not a secular person
He said that the CMP does not say that people should not be listened to. Aurangabad, which was the headquarters of the Deccan province during the Mughal period, was named after the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.
The Shiv Sena MP said that even though the Congress was publicly opposing the renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar, it was also not against renaming… Aurangzeb was not a secular person.
He said that Aurangabad district is also in Bihar and there is a demand to change its name. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar rejected the demand, but our Chief Minister did not do so. The BJP should state its stand on this issue.
Is it a crime to use the name of Sambhaji Maharaj: Raut
Controversy continues in Maharashtra over the politics of renaming Aurangabad district as Sambhaji Nagar. On Friday, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut questioned the Congress' objection over the mention of Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar in a tweet by the Chief Minister's Office. He asked whether it is a crime to use the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in government documents.
Shiv Sena, a partner in power with Congress and NCP in Maharashtra, has been demanding from time to time that Aurangabad be renamed Sambhaji Nagar after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's elder son. But Minister in the Maharashtra government and State Congress President Bala Saheb Thorat has been saying that his party will strongly oppose the renaming of Aurangabad. Two days ago, the name of the city was mentioned as Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) on the CMO's Twitter account, while Aurangabad was completely removed on Thursday. To this, Thorat objected, saying that the Directorate of Information and Publicity should not change the names of cities on their own. Raut reacted to Thorat's statement that the government acted in the name of the Chief Minister. He said that this is the sentiment of the people and the government works on the basis of the sentiment of the people.