Aurangabad renaming: After ruffled feathers, MVA to decide at the table

After nearly a fortnight long war of words the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA allies have decided to sit at the table and hammer out a solution to the ticklish issue of renaming Aurangabad as Sambhaji NagarThe matter which almost brought the Shiv SenaNationalist Congress PartyCongress alliance to the brink as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party watched in anticipation is likely to be resolved amicably said a Congress sourceChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and his Shiv Sena are rooting for the rechristening of the historical tourist city while the Congress and other parties have vigorously opposed it The NCP has kept quiet and stuck to the middle ground that it does not want to politicize the issueThe BJP leaders have thrown the gauntlet at the Shiv Sena and even asked whether it would be cowed down by the other two ruling partners on the issue that was the dream of the late Sena founder Balasaheb ThackerayThe renaming has willynilly acquired political overtones in view of the civic elections due in the city sometime this year All the political parties hope to capitalize through their respective stanceThe matter came to a boil on Wednesday January 6 night when state Congress President and Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat vented his ire at the Directorate General of Information amp Public Relations overseen by Thackeray for referring to Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar while publicizing a government statementThe Congress is opposed to renaming cities There is nothing new to this that is our position Merely renaming cities does not uplift the poor Thorat said sharplyHoping to soothe the ruffled feathers Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar of the NCP said on Thursday afternoon that the three partners always discuss things among themselves before taking any decisionWe have been in this manner for the last one year In this renaming matter of Aurangabad also we shall sit together and decide Pawar told mediapersonsAmong the other parties the All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen AIMIM which is a major party in the city Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi led by Prakash Ambedkar and Samajwadi Party led by Abu Asim Azmi are opposed to renaming Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar while the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena led by Raj Thackeray says itrsquos high time the decision is implementedLashing out at the Sena BJP exMP Kirit Somaiya said after the Congress even the SP has opposed the renaming of this prominent city in MarathwadaUddhavji you will have to tell us whether this is the Shiv Sena of the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray or the saffron has turned green Somaiya saidChhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj 16571689 was the eldest son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the founder of the Maratha Empire succeeded him to the throne and reigned for nine years till his capture and execution by the Mughal Emperor AurangzebIn a related development the Chief Minister has written to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri requesting that a notification for the renaming of Aurangabad Airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport be issued as early as possibleThe letter follows a resolution passed unanimously by the Maharashtra Legislature during the Budget Session last year to the effectThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever