Aurangabad renamed Sambhajinagar in government ordinance

City frequently mentioned as Sambhajinagar in letters and orders

Aurangabad, Oct 23:

Aurangabad is being constantly renamed as 'Sambhajinagar' in various government ordinances. An order issued by the industries department on October 23 has been added to the list. In July, joint secretary of the employment guarantee scheme C N Suryawanshi had mentioned Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar in a letter sent to all deputy collectors in Marathwada. The letter issued during the visit of guardian minister in September mentioned Sambhajinagar.

The letter sent by the joint secretary on July 29 to all deputy collectors had raised eyebrows in administrative circles. Besides, it had sparked controversy in political circles. Five entrepreneurs were appointed on the global investment promotion council from the state that consisted of city entrepreneur Ram Bhogale. An order regarding this was issued on October 23 that mentioned both 'Sambhajinagar-Aurangabad'. This has fuelled the ongoing controversy in the political arena. On Saturday, the media persons quizzed Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for his reaction, but he remained silent on the issue.

Rename city if you have courage

MIM MP Imtiyaz Jaleel said that it is not acceptable that this is being printed on government orders. The official that has renamed Aurangabad must be dismissed. I dare the political party that has been raising the Sambhajinagar issue during the municipal elections for the past 33 years to rename the city if they have the courage.

Journey to Sambhajinagar

In 1988, Shiv Sena supremo late Balasaheb Thackeray while addressing a political meet on Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal gave a call to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar. In June 1995, the decision to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar was approved by the general body meeting of the municipal corporation and it was sent to the Sena-BJP led state government. But Mushtaq Ahmed filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the decision. In 1999, the government changed hands. The proposal to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar was put on hold during the Congress-NCP government.

In 2014, the proposal again got air after Sena-BJP alliance came to power. But no decision was taken. In 2019, the Mahavikas Aghadi government came to power and March 4, 2020, information was sought on the pending court petitions and NOCs of various departments from the divisional administration regarding renaming Aurangabad. The divisional administration collected all the information from the collector office and sent it to the government. With the opposition of the Congress, and the silence of Sena and NCP and the fact that Sambhajinagar is being printed on government letters, there is no way to understand what is going on regarding renaming the city.