Aurangabad was named after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb when he was the governor of the region; there has been a demand of Shiv Sena to name it after Sambhaji. Maharashtra’s 2 Cities, Airport Renamed
Maharashtra’s 2 Cities, Airport Renamed
Even as the Maharashtra government hangs precariously in the midst of a rebellion, the Uddhav Thackeray-led state cabinet today approved renaming Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad to Dharashiv, apparently reflecting the party’s Maratha-Hindutva ideology. He is seen as the true keeper of
While there are potential legal entanglements in such a nomenclature – Uddhav Thackeray also said last year – it is an important timely political move.
Sambhaji was the eldest son of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji, after whom the party was named. He was killed on the orders of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who gave its name to Aurangabad in the 17th century. It has long been a demand of Shiv Sena to name it after Sambhaji. Ally Congress today backed the move, though it had earlier said the name change “should not be a political agenda”.
Osmanabad, named after Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last ruler of Hyderabad, derives its new name, Dharashiva, from the 6th-century caves near the city. This too has been on the agenda of Shiv Sena for some time. Maharashtra’s 2 Cities, Airport Renamed
The rebels led by Eknath Shinde have been challenging Team Thackeray on the basis of ideology. They insist that the party must break ties with the NCP and Congress to resume ties with the BJP, its “natural ally”.
The cabinet also decided to name the new airport in Navi Mumbai after DB Patil, a leader of the displaced people to build a satellite town.
Meanwhile, Team Thackeray’s lawyers were trying to persuade the Supreme Court to defer the trust vote which could seal the fate of the government. In the cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Thackeray said that his own people have betrayed him and thanked the coalition ministers for standing by him.
Eknath Shinde has claimed the support of 50 MLAs, including 40 of the 55 of Shiv Sena. Frustrating in the numbers game, the Thackeray camp has called him a traitor who falsely claims the legacy of the chief minister’s father, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. Maharashtra’s 2 Cities, Airport Renamed
