Will rename Aurangabad if we win civic polls, says BJP

PUNE/MUMBAI: BJP state unit chief Chandrakant Patil on Monday said his party would approve the proposal for changing the name of Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar if it was elected to office in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation. “It is a matter of principle and pride for us. We shall approve the proposal for changing the name if we get elected,” Patil said.
Patil said Shiv Sena should clarify its stand on changing the name of Aurangabad as it had been pressing for the change.The Sena had kept the issue on the backburner after it formed the government in the state with the Congress, which is against the renaming. The Sena refers to the city as Sambhajinagar in its mouthpiece Saamna, but it is difficult for Congress and NCP to support the renaming in view of their “secular” image, a political expert said.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut said BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party and AIMIM know the Sena’s stand on the issue, and the late Balasaheb Thackeray had already renamed the city as Sambhajinagar, so it will get renamed at government level soon.
But Congress minister Aslam Shaikh told TOI that renaming the city is not part of the common minimum programme of the MVA government. “The politics of renaming should stop . If a party wants to give a city a name, it should create a new one with complete infrastructure which will improve people’s livelihood and then name it as they wish,” Shaikh said.
MLA Abu Azmi, who is state president of SP, said, “I would say to CM Uddhav Thackeray that in case he wants to rename places, he should first rename the state after Shivaji Maharaj. If you want to name a place after Sambhaji Maharaj, the ideal district would be Raigad. Aurangabad and Ahmednagar have their own history.”
BJP’s Pravin Darekar, opposition leader in the legislative council, dared the Sena to rename Aurangabad. “The Aurangabad corporation is controlled by Sena, so they should send the proposal to the state. The state cabinet led by Uddhav Thackeray should clear the proposal and forward it to the Centre.,” Darekar said.
BJP’s ally and RPI president Ramdas Athavle opposed the renaming. He said, “Aurangabad should retain its name. The RPI will organise a protest if the state tries to rename it.” Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief Prakash Ambedkar, who supports the Thackeray government, also opposed the renaming. “The ideal city to name after Sambhaji Maharaj is Pune as the last rites of Sambhaji Maharaj were carried out near Pune.”