The decision to change the name of Aurangabad district to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar has been met with opposition, with eight petitions filed against the name change in the Bombay High Court. A hearing on the matter will take place in the Delhi Supreme Court on March 24 and in the Bombay High Court on March 27.
The decision to rename Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities was made during the tenure of then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray's government but was later canceled by the Shinde government. However, the Shinde-Fadnavis government with two ministers decided to rename the city Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. The petitioners have argued that this decision is in violation of the constitution, which requires at least twelve ministers to be present for a resolution to be accepted.
The petitioners have also claimed that the decision to change the name should be canceled to preserve the social unity of the city, and the city should be renamed Aurangabad. Furthermore, a petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking to make the decision of the Supreme Court final.
Senior Advocate Yusuf Muchhala, Adv. Satish Talekar, and Sabir Khan are defending the petitioners in the case.
- The opposition claims that the recent name change of Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar by the Shinde-Fadnavis government should be cancelled in order to preserve the social unity of the city. They argue that the city should be renamed Aurangabad.
- A petition has been filed in the Bombay High Court seeking to make the decision of the Supreme Court final. The petitioners are seeking legal recourse to challenge the name change.
- The opposition has raised the issue that a resolution taken without the presence of at least twelve ministers will not be considered as mentioned in the constitution. They argue that the decision to change the name was taken by only two ministers of the Shinde-Fadnavis government, which is in violation of the constitution.
- The Shinde-Fadnavis government, which consisted of only two ministers, decided to rename the city as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. This has been challenged by the opposition who argue that such decisions require the presence of at least twelve ministers.
- The opposition also highlights that when the state government renamed the city in 1995, the Supreme Court stayed the decision. This suggests that the decision to change the name was controversial and has been challenged before.
- It is worth noting that the state government cancelled the name change notification in 2001 by then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. This suggests that the issue of renaming the city has been a matter of debate and controversy for many years.
The legal battle against the name change of Aurangabad district to Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar continues, with hearings scheduled in the Delhi Supreme Court on March 24 and in the Bombay High Court on March 27. The outcome of these hearings will determine the future of the city's name.