With Uddhav Govt Seemingly on Last Leg, Maha Cabinet’s Big Decisions – Renames Aurangabad, Usmanabad

The Maharashtra government, which is teetering on the brink of collapse following a rebellion by Shiv Sena strongman Eknath Shinde, on Wednesday took three big decisions at its cabinet meeting. The cabinet decided to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar, while Navi Mumbai airport will be named DB Patil Interational Airport instead of Balasaheb Thackeray and Usmanabad will be renamed Dharashiv.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and cabinet minister Chhagan Bhujbal are attending the meeting virtually as they have tested positive for coronavirus. After reaching Mantralaya or the state secretariat, the CM paid his respect to the portraits of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and B R Ambedkar.

The decision to change the name of Aurangabad city comes a day after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday where a demand was made to rename it as Sambhajinagar. Transport Minister Anil Parab of the Shiv Sena said he demanded that Aurangabad city in central Maharashtra be renamed as Sambhajinagar. “A proposal will be brought in tomorrow’s Cabinet meeting, Parab, a close aide of Thackeray,” he had said.

Historical Significance

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government is facing an existential crisis following a rebellion in Shiv Sena after being accused of compromising with its core ideology of Hindutva. The opposition BJP has been trying to corner the Sena, which heads the three-party government, over renaming the central Maharashtra city after Maratha king Chhatrapati Sambhaji.

Considered a polarising figure in Indian history, Mughal emperor Aurangazeb founded the city of Aurangabad in the Marathwada region of the present-day Maharashtra. He had also ordered the execution of Chhatrapati Sambhaji, a personality revered by the Shiv Sena.

Bal Thackeray’s 1988 Announcement and Legal Tangle

Late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray had announced that the Aurangabad would be renamed Sambhajinagar back in 1988 after winning the local body elections in the city. Since then, several attempts were made to for the renaming of the city.

In 1995 the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) passed a resolution to rename Aurangabad. The then Chief Minister Manohar Joshi had also sought public suggestions and objections on the renaming of the city through a notification. The move was challenged by Congress corporator, Mushtaq Ahmed, who moved to the Bombay High Court against the Shiv Sena’s decision. The case was tabled at the Supreme Court, which ordered status quo in 1996.

After the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) government came to power in Maharashtra in 1999, it withdrew the notification. Later, the notification was later re-introduced by the former chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

Interestingly, while the BJP and the Shiv Sena have pushed for changing the city’s name to Sambhajinagar, Sena’s current allies – NCP and Congress have opposed the move.

Navi Mumbai Airport

The decision to rename the Navi Mumbai airport came interestingly as the state planning agency CIDCO had earlier proposed to name the airport after late Balasaheb Thackeray.

Congress on Tuesday demanded in the cabinet meeting that Pune city be named as Jijau Nagar, after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mother, and Mumbai Trans Harbour link between Sewree and Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai be named for former chief minister late A R Antulay. But these demands were apparently not considered. Congress had backed the demand to name Navi Mumbai Airport after D B Patil.

demanded in the cabinet meeting that Pune city be named as Jijau Nagar, after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mother, and Mumbai Trans Harbour link between Sewree and Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai be named for former chief minister late A R Antulay. But these demands were apparently not considered. Congress had backed the demand to name Navi Mumbai Airport after D B Patil. .

Floor Test

Meanwhile, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has asked the Maharashtra Legislature Secretary to hold a floor test of the MVA government at 11 am on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court had taken note of submissions of senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu, that an urgent hearing was needed in view of the decision taken by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari asking the MVA government to prove the majority on Thursday. The bench had agreed to hear the matter at 5 PM today.

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