Aurangabad row: Congress claims 'Sena wants to rename city for votes', calls it a 'farce'

The three-party Maharashtra government's troubles intensified as state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat on Sunday, calling the Shiv Sena-led government's 'name-changing' spree a farce. Pointing out that the Shiv Sena-BJP duo was in power from 2014-2019 in both Centre and State, he asked why the name change was not done then. While the Shiv Sena has reaffirmed its demand to rename Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar & Osmanabad to Dharashiv, both Congress and NCP have opposed it calling it 'irrelevant'.

Aurangabad row: Maha CM defends 'Sambhajinagar' tweet; says 'Aurangazeb not secular'

Congress: 'Shiv Sena bothered about votes'

Thorat further added that Shiv Sena was rekindling this issue via its mouthpiece 'Saamana', as it cared about its vote-bank. Alleging that Sena was used to such 'farce' in its previous alliance, he affirmed that the three-party government will not fall over this. He added that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was like a god to the party and it did not need to flaunt their 'Maratha' status over it. Thorat's comment also comes amid Congress seeking to remove him as state chief. Similarly, NCP spokesperson Majeed Menon called the renaming of both places a 'bias against Muslim names', stating it went against the secular character of the state.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena's mouthpiece "Saamana" said that the renaming of Aurangabad might affect the vote bank of "secular parties" as the renaming will upset the Muslim society.  "India's constitution was secular... Aurangzeb had a strong hatred for other religions. He tortured Sikhs and Hindus. Why should we pay attention to their relics? Therefore, there is no reason for a true Marathi and hardcore Hindu person to have an attachment to Aurangzeb," it said. BJP, on the other hand, has backed Sena's proposal to rename the city. Other parties like VBA, AIMIM, and RPI too have opposed the renaming of the city.

Aurangabad row: CMO refers to city as 'Sambhaji nagar' in cabinet decision; allies refute

Aurangabad-Dharashiv renaming war

The war over renaming Aurangabad began when CM Uddhav Thackeray's official Twitter handle - referred to the city as 'Sambhajinagar' while announcing an official cabinet decision. Amid Congress and NCP's refusal to go ahead with the renaming Thackeray intensified it by referring to Osmanabad as Dharashiv, adding, "'Aurangazeb was not secular, hence the issue did not fall under the MVA's agenda". The MVA's 'secular' Common Minimum Programme states in its preamble that the alliance will take a joint view on matters which have consequences on the 'secular fabric of the nation'.

No problem with renaming Maha's Aurangabad Airport: AIMIM MP

Aurangabad was a prominent Mughal city in the Deccan region and derives its name from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was tortured to death by Aurangzeb. In 1995, a proposal was passed in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to rename the city as Sambhajinagar. However, it was challenged by Congress corporator Mushtaq Ahmed in the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court and later the Supreme Court which stayed the process of renaming the city. The renaming of Aurangabad has been Shiv Sena's longstanding demand.