Pune, November 12: The Sambhaji Brigade has demanded that the name of Pune city be changed to Jijapur after the name of Jijamata, mother of the great Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

A report in Pune Mirror said that the Sambhaji Brigade has also submitted a letter to the Maharashtra government explaining the reason for renaming the historic city of Pune.

The Sambhaji Brigade reiterated their support to Shiv Sena's demand of renaming Aurangabad and Osmanabad districts as Sambhaji Nagar and Dharashiv respectively.

The Pune district president of Sambhaji Brigade said that it was Jijamata who ploughed the Punewadi's land in 17th century after people were scared to even live in the district as Bijapur Adilshah's generals ran havoc in the area. He added that Jijamata's contribution cannot be ignored as it her ploughing that brought prosperity in the region.

Pune district collector Naval Kishore Ram will also be explained the reason behind the demand for name change, said Sambhaji Brigade.

The name change clamour has gotten louder with the 2019 General Elections barely six months away. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recently changed the names of Allahabad and Faizabad districts as Prayagraj and Shri Ayodhya respectively.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2018 11:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).