Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde welcomes Bombay HC ruling on city renaming

Eknath Shinde. File pic

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday welcomed the Bombay High Court ruling on renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv, respectively, and said those opposed to the move were linked to the opposition MVA.

Speaking to reporters here, he said the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad approved in June 2022 by the then-Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was "illegal" as the ruling coalition had lost its majority following a revolt in the Shiv Sena led by him.

After Shinde became CM on June 30, 2022, following the collapse of the MVA government, his cabinet approved the name of Aurangabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and that of Osmanabad as Dharashiv. On July 16, 2022, a Government Resolution was passed for changing names and then forwarded to the Centre for approval.

‘Dream fulfilled'

"The Bombay High Court has given recognition to the renaming of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv today (May 8). The dream of (Shiv Sena founder) late Balasaheb Thackeray has been fulfilled. Some of the people who opposed this decision and went to the court were from the MVA," he noted.

"This (court ruling) is a lesson for those who opposed Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's renaming. The city of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Balasaheb Thackeray shared a deep bond. Those who were in the government for two-and-a-half years took the renaming decision at the very last moment after our revolt, but it was illegal," Shinde maintained.

Earlier in the day, the HC dismissed a bunch of petitions challenging the state government's decision to rename Aurangabad district as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor said the petitions were bereft of merits and the notification issued by the state government (for renaming) does not warrant any interference.

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