Highlights
- Aurangabad and Osmanabad will now be renamed Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv, respectively.
- Navi Mumbai Airport's name will be changed to DB Patil International Airport.
- Congress demanded Pune city be named as Jijau Nagar.
Maharashtra cities name change: The Maharashtra state cabinet on Wednesday approved the renaming of two cities Aurangabad and Osmanabad. The former will be renamed Sambhaji Nagar and the latter will be renamed Dharashiv. Also, Navi Mumbai Airport's name will be changed to DB Patil International Airport. The decision was taken in the Maharashtra cabinet meeting today.
The Congress, which is a junior partner in the MVA government, demanded in the cabinet meeting that Pune city be named as Jijau Nagar, after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's mother, and Mumbai Trans Harbour link between Sewree and Nhava Sheva in Navi Mumbai be named for former chief minister late A R Antulay.
The decision on the emotive issue of renaming the historical central Maharashtra city of Aurangabad came even as the Shiv Sena, which heads the ruling MVA coalition, is facing a rebellion by the majority of its MLAs.
The cabinet meeting was headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. After the Shiv Sena broke off its alliance with the BJP and joined hands with the Congress and NCP to form the MVA government, the BJP had often reminded the Sena of its own old demand to rename Aurangabad, which derived its name from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.