Four hours before he resigned as chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray struck an emotional note while addressing what was the last state cabinet meeting of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government on Wednesday.
In his address, 61-year-old Thackeray expressed his gratitude to his allies, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, for extending their cooperation to him and his party, and said that his own people “betrayed” him, referring to the rebellion in the ranks led by legislator — and one-time Number 2 in the Shiv Sena — Eknath Shinde.
The cabinet also cleared the renaming of two cities, Aurangabad and Osmanabad to Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv, respectively, and agreed to name the yet-to-be-constructed Navi Mumbai international airport after DB Patil, a deceased local leader who helped the projected affected people gain rights over the land from which they were displaced.
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The demand to rename these cities started in late 1980s. On May 8, 1988 Sena founder Bal Thackeray announced that Aurangabad will be called Sambhajinagar, named after Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, (the son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj) who was killed on Aurangzeb’s orders in 1689. The renaming of Osmanabad was on Sena’s agenda for a while too. The city is named after Hyderabad’s last ruler Mir Osman Ali Khan. Dharashiv derives its name from pre-historic caves near the city.
“The chief minister expressed gratitude towards both the allies. He also thanked senior officials including the chief secretary Manukumar Srivastava,” water resources minister Jayant Patil said.
“The CM told the cabinet that while he received cooperation from the NCP and Congress despite sharing different ideologies, he was betrayed by his own party leaders, which was unfortunate,” Patil said.
After the Shiv Sena had severed its decades-old ties with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP often reminded the Sena of its own demand to rename the city of Aurangabad, which is said to have derived its name from Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
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The proposal was taken up a day after Shiv Sena leader and state transport minister Anil Parab requested the chief minister to approve renaming of the historical city of central Maharashtra.
The state government also approved naming the Navi Mumbai airport after DB Patil going against a resolution passed by CIDCO to name the airport after late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray. After CIDCO’s resolution, BJP leaders held protests and accused Thackeray of denying DB Patil the recognition for sacrificing his life for the welfare of the locals.
“With the cabinet’s approval, the state government will now send recommendations to the Centre for renaming both the cities. Once approved the process of renaming them will be started by the urban development department,” an official from the urban development department said.
For officials and ministers present at the meeting, Thackeray’s address seemed like a farewell speech.
“It is his nature to take everyone along and give respect to others,” Congress minister
Sunil Kedar, who heads the state animal husbandry department said after the cabinet meeting.
