MNS asks Shiv Sena to honour Bal Thackeray's word on Sambhajinagar, alleges doublespeak

Amid the row between Congress and MNS over renaming Aurangabad city to Sambhajinagar, Raj Thackeray-led MNS waded into this debate on Saturday. Senior MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar stressed that his party has no problem with either the Centre or the state taking the credit for renaming Aurangabad. However, he alleged that Shiv Sena was adopting a hypocritical approach in this matter.

To buttress his point, he referred to Maharashtra Minister Abdul Sattar's statement that CM Uddhav Thackeray has "allowed" him to use Aurangabad instead of Sambhajinagar. Sattar had switched over from Congress to Shiv Sena before the 2019 Assembly election and subsequently won from the Sillod constituency. Moreover, Nandgaonkar called upon the ruling party in Maharashtra to honour the late Balasaheb Thackeray's word and change the name of Aurangabad. 

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BJP dares Sena to rename Aurangabad

After the Congress party made it clear that it will continue to oppose the renaming of Aurangabad, Shiv Sena attempted to downplay the rift within the MVA. Speaking to the media earlier in the day, Sena MP Sanjay Raut mentioned that changing Aurangabad's name was a mere formality as party founder Balasaheb Thackeray had himself renamed it to Sambhajinagar many years ago. At the same time, he stressed that the three-party alliance in Maharashtra would mutually resolve this issue. Reacting to this, BJP national general secretary CT Ravi questioned whether Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray would compromise on his father's legacy to remain in power. 

Sena MP Sanjay Raut remarked, "There is no politics. Balasaheb Thackeray had renamed Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar 30 years ago. Now, we only have to change it officially. There is not a matter of conflict in the Maha Vikas Aghadi. When we sit together, the issue will be resolved. But there is there no change in Shiv Sena's stance."

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Impasse over Sambhajinagar demand

Aurangabad was a prominent Mughal city in the Deccan region and derives its name from the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. On the other hand, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was tortured to death by Aurangzeb. In 1995, a proposal was passed in the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation to rename the city as Sambhajinagar. However, it was challenged by Congress corporator Mushtaq Ahmed in the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court. As his plea was rejected by the HC, Ahmed moved the Supreme Court which stayed the process of renaming the city. 

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