Mumbai, January 04: The Shiv Sena-BJP combine, miffed over removal of the statue of Shivaji Maharaj’s tutor Dadoji Konddev from the historic Lal Mahal in Pune, today ensured passage of a resolution in the Aurangabad civic body to rename that historic city as Sambhajinagar after Shivaji’s son.
The actual renaming is far away as it would need assent of the State and Central governments, both controlled by Congress-NCP, also in power in the Pune civic body.
The resolution was passed by a voice vote at a special general body meeting of the Aurangabad municipal corporation today, Mayor Anita Ghodele said.
Sena MP Chandrakant Khaire said Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had first called Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar on May 8, 1988.
Crying foul over the move to rename the city as Aurangabad, Congress corporators shouted slogans, condemning the resolution and asked the Sena-BJP alliance instead to focus on the development of the city.
Aurangabad was named after the Mogul Emperor Aurangzeb and Hindus were against it, a Sena leader said. “In 1995, the AMC passed a resolution to rename Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar by majority vote and the proposal was sent to the Maharashtra government for approval,” he said.
–PTI