Uddhav Thackeray pitches for name expansion of Shivaji institutes

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray with his council of ministers. Picture/Twitter Office of Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has sent a formal request to Governor B.S. Koshyari, urging him to initiate the process to rename Shivaji University, Kolhapur, as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj University, Kolhapur.

He said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is revered not only in Maharashtra, but all over India, and hence he must always be referred to with honour and dignity. The same request has also gone to the Vice-Chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur.

The CM pointed out that already the Central Railway has named its headquarters as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and the Mumbai Airport is known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

"Accordingly, it is imperative that his name should be referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in all government schemes, programmes or institutions named after him," Thackeray said.

The development came three days after Rajya Sabha MP Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati -- the 13th descendent of the great Maratha warrior -- had written to Uddhav Thackeray demanding that the state government 'correct' the names of all public institutions bearing the name of his illustrious ancestor, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

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