Congress irked as CMO tweets Shiv Sena name for Aurangabad

MUMBAI: A tweet from the Chief Minister’s Office on Wednesday fuelled the ongoing clash between alliance partners Congress and Shiv Sena over the renaming of Aurangabad city after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.
After the ‘CMO Maharashtra’ Twitter handle put out a tweet referring to the city as Sambhajinagar, the name the Sena has proposed and used for the past few decades, Congress state president and revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat expressed his disapproval over a “government document” bearing the name.Thorat also remarked that renaming cities was not part of the common minimum programme of the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi which rules the state.

After the state cabinet’s meeting on Wednesday, CM Uddhav Thackeray’s office for the first time referred to Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar on its official handle while putting out information about a cabinet decision related to that city.
“The state cabinet sanctioned 165 new beds and decided to create 360 posts in the government medical and cancer hospital at Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad),” stated the CMO. Interestingly, the medical education portfolio is handled by Congress’ Amit Deshmukh, whose photograph was used along with the tweet.
Irked, Thorat, referring to the Maharashtra government’s directorate general of information and public relations (DGIPR), which is controlled by CM Thackeray, stated on Twitter, “Maha (DGIPR) should not rename cities on their own. They should keep in mind that a government document will be treated like a legal document. Renaming cities is not part of the common minimum programme of the Maha Vikas Aghadi.”
Thorat further stated, “Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj is our adored deity. So, no one should play the politics of renaming by using his name. Let’s work together for the development of Aurangabad.” In another tweet, Thorat stated, “The MVA government runs on the basis of the common minimum programme, which is the gist of the Indian Constitution. We again insist that Congress will oppose the renaming any of the city in order to maintain social harmony.” Uddhav Thackeray has always referred to Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar.