Renaming Aurangabad becomes new flashpoint between Shiv Sena, Congress in Maharashtra
The Shiv Sena has been demanding that Aurangabad should be renamed after the Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. However, the Congress has put its foot down saying it will oppose any such move.
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UPDATED: January 1, 2021 22:15 IST
The demand to rename Aurangabad was initially raised by the Shiv Sena but with the change of equations in Maharashtra s politics, the party has been caught on the wrong foot. (File photo of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.)
Renaming of the historic city of Aurangabad to Sambhajinagar has become the latest source of friction between Maharashtra s ruling allies - the Shiv Sena and the Congress.
Congress will oppose any proposal to rename Aurangabad: Maharashtra president Balasaheb Thorat freepressjournal.in - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freepressjournal.in Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Party says MVA allies engaging in game of political arm-wrestling
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit out at the ruling Congress and the Shiv Sena over renaming Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar. The party said it was just a game of political ‘arm-wrestling’ between the two coalition partners of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said the Sena typically kicked up the emotive ‘Sambhajinagar’ issue just before local elections, only to jettison its soon afterwards. “It hardly matters if the Congress opposes or supports the renaming issue. However, the Sena conveniently raises it before any election, and then just as conveniently sets it aside,” said Mr. Fadnavis.
Angering the Congress, Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP and Saamana editor Sanjay Raut, had on Saturday, taken a public dig at the Congress’s leadership. Contending that a “weak opposition” was bad for democracy, Raut had called for expansion of the Congress-led UPA.
Lashing out at the Sena on Monday, AICC’s (Maharashtra in-charge) H K Patil said, “There are efforts by some people to create confusion amongst UPA partners. Those who are not part of the UPA shouldn’t poke their nose in UPA’s affairs. They are not relevant.”
Former minister and Congress’s Mumbai campaign committee chief Naseem Khan, objecting to remarks in Sena mouthpiece Saamana, said. “If someone unnecessarily points a finger at our leader, Congress workers know how to bend it.”
Alliance with Shiv Sena limited to Maharashtra: Cong minister
Speaking to reporters here, the state PWD Minister also said that it was not proper on part of the Sena to comment on the leadership of the UPA. Updated: December 28, 2020 12:53:50 pm
Chavan said, Our alliance with the Sena in Maharashtra is based on a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and limited to Maharashtra.
Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan on Sunday said that the Shiv Sena was not part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the tie-up between the two parties is limited to Maharashtra, a day after Sena MP Sanjay Raut called for expansion of the Congress-led bloc.