Maharashtra’s Aurangabad city will now be renamed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, and Osmanabad city will now be called Dharashiv, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde confirmed on Friday.
Nearly a year after a proposal to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad, the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday approved the proposal stating that it has no objection to renaming cities. The initial proposal was made in a cabinet meeting during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in June 2022 before Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the then chief minister. The decision has been pending with the Centre since then.
After claiming that the decision by the Uddhav government was illegal, On July 16, 2022, a Government Resolution was passed by the two-member cabinet, comprising of Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, for changing the names and a proposal was then forwarded to the Centre.
Renaming Matter in HC
Last month, the Bombay High Court on Tuesday sought to know from the Maharashtra government if it had called for objections and suggestions before deciding to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities in the state.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice S V Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep Marne also directed the Union government to show if any proposal was submitted by the state government to it over the change of names.
History of Aurangabad & Osmanabad
Sambhaji was the eldest son of Chhatrapati Shivaji, whom Shinde’s party is named after. A Mughal emperor named Aurangzeb ordered his death in the 17th century, giving Aurangabad city its name.
Osmanabad was named after Hyderabad’s last ruler Mir Osman Ali Khan. The city derives its new name – Dharashiv – from sixth-century caves located near the city.
AIMIM Slams Decision
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP from Aurangabad Imtiaz Jaleel slammed the renaming decision and said that the BJP is playing politics in the name of his city.
“Aurangabad is, was and will always be our city. Now wait for our show of strength for Aurangabad. A massive morcha for our beloved city! Get ready Aurangabadis to defeat these forces (BJP) playing politics in the name of our city. We condemn & we will fight,” he tweeted.
CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the Centre’s nod for renaming the two cities. Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies, the Congress and NCP, were reportedly not happy with the decision.
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