Mumbai: The Uddhav Thackeray government has approved the renaming of two cities in Maharashtra. Aurangabad was renamed Sambhajinagar and Usmanabad was renamed Dharashiv. Navi Mumbai’s new airport The cabinet also approved the naming of Patil.
In Maharashtra, where the political crisis continues, the Uddhav government is facing a no-confidence vote tomorrow. The Uddhav government will have to resign if it fails to prove its faith. The name change comes as the Supreme Court continues to hear arguments on a vote of confidence.
The army has long demanded the renaming of two cities in the state. Sambhaji was the eldest son of the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji. Usmanabad derives its name from Mir Usman Ali Khan, the last king of Hyderabad. The army had earlier demanded that the city be named following Dharashiv, an ancient cave near Hyderabad.
Governor BS Koshyari has asked Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to show confidence tomorrow. The petition is being filed by the Shiv Sena questioning this.
Senior advocate Manu Abhishek Singhvi appeared for the Shiv Sena official. Solicitor General Thushar Mehta appeared for the Governor of Maharashtra and senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde.
Earlier, the same bench of the apex court had directed that no further action be taken till July 11 on the Deputy Speaker’s notice disqualifying 16 Sena MLAs, including Shinde. The order came on a petition filed by Shinde once morest the Deputy Speaker’s disqualification notice. The petition will be heard in court on July 12. The recommendation is not to hold a vote of confidence until then.
Without the intervention of the court, 16 MLAs would have been disqualified by June 21 itself. Singhvi also argued how such disqualified MLAs would vote in Thursday’s confidence vote.
The governor was in no hurry to cast his vote of confidence. The Chief Minister was not summoned or discussed. He further added that he had acted on the instructions of the Leader of the Opposition.
