In what could be seen as a first major face-off between the Congress and the Shiv Sena, Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat on Wednesday censured the director general, Information and Public Relations (IPR) Department, for using Sambhajinagar instead of Aurangabad while issuing a press release. The Sena and the Congress are allies in the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray holds the IPR portfolio.
“The MVA government works on a common minimum programme (CMP) and constitutional values are part of it. We will oppose any renaming of city if social harmony is going to be disturbed. The Maharashtra DGIPR should not change the names of the cities at its will. It should be realised that government documents have legal importance,” Mr. Thorat, who is also the State Congress president, said, adding that renaming cities are not included in the CMP.
The reaction from the Congress came after the official Twitter handle of the CM posted a photo about Wednesday’s Cabinet decision by the Medical Education Department handled by Congress leader Amit Deshmukh on increasing number of beds in government hospitals in Aurangabad. It mentioned Sambhajinagar while Aurangabad was in brackets.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Thackeray had written to the Union Civil Aviation Minister reminding him of renaming the Aurangabad airport after Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Both Houses of the State legislature have unanimously passed the resolution for it.
Renaming of Aurangabad has kicked up a row ahead of the civic polls later this year. The Sena has been demanding it for years while the Opposition BJP has challenged the Sena to rename the city. The NCP, the other partner in the MVA, has chosen not to engage itself in the controversy.
Published - January 07, 2021 12:21 am IST
