While the renaming of Aurangabad has sparked controversy in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the Chief Minister's reference of Osmanabad as Dharashiv on the CMO Twitter handle has further heated up the situation. This is the first time that NCP supremo Sharad Pawar broke his silence saying that he will not comment on this as for him it does not make any difference to him.
“Say Sambhaji Nagar, say Dharashiv, otherwise say something else. I don't take this matter seriously. So, I never made a comment on this,’’ said Pawar.
Pawar’s statement comes days after Congress party reiterated its opposition to rename Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar citing that changing names of cities was not part of the MVA’s common minimum programme.
He has thereby hinted that the verbal duel between Shiv Sena and Congress will not have any impact on the survival of the MVA government despite opposition BJP stepping up its attack.
Earlier, Aurangabad was mentioned as Sambhaji Nagar on the official Twitter handle of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's office (CMO, Maharashtra). In particular, a photo of Congress minister Amit Deshmukh was used in the tweet. Congress state president Balasaheb Thorat had immediately expressed his dissent on the same as the Congress opposed to the renaming.
Elaborating on his tweet that referred Aurangabad as Sambhaji Nagar, Thackeray said while coalition’s agenda adheres to secularism, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb does not fit into it.
“The roles of the three parties are in their respective places. It is a question of party affiliation. It has nothing to do with the government. This is because the government is built on at least the same program,” said NCP state president Jayant Patil.
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