Pune should be called 'Jijapur': Maratha Outfit appeals Maharashtra government

City name change in India: In the wake of Shiv Sena's demand from the Maharashtra government to rename the state's Aurangabad, Osmanabad and Khultabad cities, Sambhaji Brigade, a Maratha organisation has now jumped on the name-changers’ bandwagon. As reported by the Pune Mirror, the organisation has written a letter to the Maharashtra government requesting the government to rename the city of Pune to Jijapur. Santosh Shinde, the Pune district president of Sambhaji Brigade said that was quoted as saying that the organisation will meet Pune district collector, Naval Kishore Ram, on Monday to submit an official letter of request. He further said that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should not deny the proposal as BJP claims to be in power in Maharashtra with the blessings of warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji. Why 'Jijapur' Explaining the choice of this nomenclature, Shinde told the Pune Mirror that the proposed name is based on the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mother, Jijamata. He said “She was a great and visionary, who ploughed the deserted Punawadi’s land in the 17th century with a golden plough, which is deemed as the beginning of Pune’s prosperity.” Meanwhile, close on the heels of the Uttar Pradesh government's decision to rechristen Allahabad and Faizabad, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut last week sought to know when will the Maharashtra government rename the state's Aurangabad and Osmanabad cities. The Yogi Adityanath government in UP had last month renamed Allahabad as "Prayagraj", and last week announced that Faizabad district will henceforth be known as Ayodhya.