Cong has clear, permanent stand on Aurangabad renaming: Thorat

Maharashtra Congress chief BalasahebThorat on Friday said his party had a ''permanent and clearstand'' on the renaming of Aurangabad as Sambhajinagar and thisstand would be explained to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

While Thackeray's Shiv Sena has been advocating thename change for over two decades, the Congress has alwaysopposed it.

When queried on the CM giving signals about renamingAurangabad by stating that Mughal emperor Aurangzeb does notfit the concept of secularism, Thorat said, ''The Congress hasa permanent and clear stand on the renaming issue. I have beenputting forth the same stand even now and I am sure we willexplain our stand to the CM properly.'' He said rifts were taking place because politics wasbeing played over the renaming issue.

''To avoid that rift, the Congress always opposes suchrenaming proposals,'' Thorat told reporters here, adding thatthe MVA government was working on a common minimum programme(CMP) and would continue doing so.