Received threat calls over opposition to Aurangabad, Osmanabad renaming, says Samajwadi Party MLA's aide

The personal assistant of Samajwadi Party MLA Abu Asim Azmi approached police claiming he had received threatening phone calls over the party opposing the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively, an official said on Monday.

Hours before Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Maharashtra chief minister on June 29, the Maha Vikas Aghadi cabinet, which also included Congress and NCP ministers, approved the renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar and Osmanabad as Dharashiv.

Azmi's PA Kamal Hussain has said he received calls from unknown numbers on the issue, with the caller threatening to kill the MLA for opposing the name change, the official said.

''The caller wanted to speak to Azmi but Hussain has told us he refused to pass on the phone to the MLA. The caller said Azmi must not speak on the renaming issue in the Assembly, which had a special two-day session on Sunday and Monday,'' the official said.

Hussain said his statement has been recorded by Colaba police in connection with his complaint.