Thackeray government pushes to rename Aurangabad

Last year, the chief minister had told the state assembly that a detailed proposal for renaming Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar had been received

Mumbai: With increasing pressure on the Shiv Sena from within to underscore its ‘Hindu’ credentials the Maharashtra government is likely to clear a controversial and long pending issue of renaming Aurangabad city as Sambhaji Nagar. Shiv Sena leader and state transport minister Anil Parab said he has requested chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to rename the city in the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday. A proposal will be brought for discussion in the next cabinet meeting scheduled on Wednesday, he told reporters.

Shiv Sena leader and state transport minister Anil Parab said he has requested chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to rename the city in the cabinet meeting held on Tuesday (HT PHOTO)

Last year, the chief minister had told the state assembly that a detailed proposal for renaming Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar had been received from the divisional commissioner on 4th March 2020 and legal opinion on the same had been sought. The proposal will be sent to the Centre after all approvals were in place, said Thackeray.

But now facing a vertical split, the party is looking to push the proposal by clearing it in the state cabinet as they and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are locked in a game of one-upmanship over renaming of the city. Shiv Sena will in all likelihood face opposition in the cabinet from Congress and NCP who may oppose the proposal. Imtiyaz Jaleel, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP from Aurangabad, said that the Sena was moving the proposal for political reasons. “Shiv Sena is wary that their government may not survive the split and thus is taking up the proposal of renaming the city.”

Meanwhile, state home minister Dilip Walse Patil said that the home department has decided to start the process of recruitment of 7,200 police personnel with immediate effect. They have issued directives to the director general of police Rajnish Seth in this regard. Parab said that he has also requested the chief minister for in-situ rehabilitation of government employees staying at Bandra government colony for years.