The centre on Friday approved the Maharashtra cabinet's proposal, changing the names of the two cities of the state- Aurangabad and Osmanabad. Aurangabad's name has been changed to 'Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar', while Osmanabad will be known as 'Dharashiv'.
Only the name of the city has changed, the name of the district remains the same
According to the Centre's order, Aurangabad district's headquarters has been renamed Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, but the name of Aurangabad district will remain intact. The name of the headquarters of Osmanabad district has been changed to Dharashiv, but the name of Osmanabad district has been retained.
Taking to Twitter, he attached the letter of approval from the home ministry and wrote, "'Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar' of Aurangabad, 'Dharashiv' of Osmanabad! The central government approves the decision of the state government! Hon. Prime Minister Narendra Modiji and Union Minister Hon. Many thanks to Amitbhai Shah! The government under the leadership of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ji has 'demonstrated'...!"
The demand for changing the name of both cities was first made by the late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. This demand was brought up by the Shiv Sena founder for several decades. However, former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray took a decision to change these names in his last Cabinet meeting as a chief minister before his government collapsed in 2022.