Maharashtra government decided to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively due to history and not for political reasons, the affidavit submitted by state government noted.
It was in response to the two public interest litigations challenging the decision to change the names of these cities, which claimed this move was politically motivated.
The government in its affidavits denied the name change was being effected for any such reason as alleged in the petitions.
“The state government has complied with all the necessary procedures involved in effecting change of name. The decision to change the name of Osmanabad to Dharashiv neither leads to any religious and communal hatred nor creates any rift between religious groups,” it explained further.
In its response, the government also said that a majority of the people celebrated the name change. The affidavit added that various records showed previously Osmanabad was known as Dharashiv.
“As per the story in Skand Puran, there was a devil in Dharashiv village namely Dharasur, who was killed by the goddess Saraswati. Due to this goddess Saraswati was known as Dharasur Mardini and the name of this village became Dharashiv. The village Dharashiv has been known as such from an ancient period,” the government said in its response.
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