The Maharashtra Government on Wednesday cleared a proposal to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv. The Navi Mumbai Airport’s name will be changed to DB Patil International Airport.
This decision by Shiv Sena comes right when they are on the brink of possible collapse since the MVA is facing a serious political crisis with a large chunk of the party MLAs gone rogue along with Eknath Shinde.
This renaming can be looked at as an effort by the Shiv Sena to burnish its hindutva credentials in what could be its last major decision in the 31 month-old Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government. The decision also comes amid accusations rebel MLAs led by Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde of compromising with its core ideology of Hindutva.
Sambhaji was the eldest son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, the Maratha king after whom the party is named. He was killed on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who gave Aurangabad its name in the 17th century. Renaming it after Sambhaji had been on Shiv Sena’s agenda for a long time. Ally Congress supported the move today, though it had earlier said renaming “should not be a political agenda”.
Maharashtra renames Osmanabad as Dharashiv
Osmanabad, named after Hyderabad’s last ruler Mir Osman Ali Khan. Moreover, derives its new name, Dharashiv, from 6th-century caves near the city. This, too, has been on the Sena’s agenda for a while.
These decisions were made in a cabinet meeting chaired by the Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray that took place today.
Further in the meeting, Uddhav Thackeray said that he received the support of Congress and NCP. But unfortunately he didn’t get the support of his own party’s people. He also thanked all the ministers and bureaucrats for their cooperation for for the last two and half years.
