'Aurangzeb not secular', says Uddhav Thackeray, indulges in war of words with Congress

NewsBharati    09-Jan-2021 12:44:22 PM
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Mumbai, Jan 9: Ahead of the civic polls that are slated to be held this year, the ruling allies - Shiv Sena and Congress - are having a war of words over the name of Aurangabad. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is continuing to refer to the Aurangabad city as Sambhaji Nagar and saying that while the coalition's agenda is to stick to "secularism", the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb "does not fit into it".
 
Responding to the Congress’s objection to him referring to Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar to honour the Maratha ruler, Thackeray told reporters, "Aurangzeb was not a secular person. While our agenda has the word secular in it, a person like Aurangazeb does not fit into it." However, these remarks by the Chief Minister shows taking a different stance on secularism from its allies on the same issue.

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When he was asked he had referred to Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar on his official Twitter handle earlier, Thackeray said, “What new thing have I done? I have done what we have been saying for over so many years and what the Shiv Sena supremo (Bal Thackeray) had said.” The Chief Minister was speaking to reporters after a function to welcome Vasant Gite and Sunil Bagul back into the Shiv Sena from the BJP, which they had joined some time ago.
 
On Wednesday, Thackeray had referred to Sambhaji Nagar while announcing a Cabinet decision on Twitter about adding 165 beds and creating 360 posts in Aurangabad’s government medical college and cancer hospital. The tweet tagged Medical Education Minister and Congress leader Amit Deshmukh. On Thursday, the Chief Minister’s Twitter handle put out two tweets referring the city as Sambhaji Nagar.
 
Speaking on this issue, Congress leader, former chief minister and current Public Works Minister Ashok Chavan said that changing the name of Aurangabad was not a priority for his party. "This is a three-party government, the issues which are not a priority can be discussed in the coordination committee between the parties," he said.
 
Reacting to the renaming of the cities, Balasaheb Thorat, Revenue Minister, and state Congress president, said that the MVA government runs on the Common Minimum Program, and renaming of cities is not a part of it. “We reiterate that to maintain social harmony, we strongly oppose renaming of any city,” said Thorat.
 
Without naming Thackeray, who heads the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR), Thorat said DGIPR should not name cities on its own. “While we adore Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, politics should not be played with his name. We should come together for the development of Aurangabad,” he added.
 
Shiv Sena leader and MP Sanjay Raut defended Thackeray’s tweets. “Is it a crime to use the name of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Raje? There is nothing wrong with using the names of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in government records and Twitter. It is public sentiment and the government functions on public sentiment,” said Raut. He had claimed that even the Congress leaders who are opposing the renaming of the Aurangabad are followers of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj “at heart”.
 
Besides, on Wednesday Thackeray wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, requesting a notification on the renaming of Aurangabad airport as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Airport “at the earliest”. "The state Cabinet has taken a decision to rename the Aurangabad airport after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj. A resolution on the same was also passed unanimously in both Houses of the state legislature during the Budget Session," Thackeray said in his letter, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office (CMO).