Curated By: Sanstuti Nath
Last Updated: January 12, 2024, 15:39 IST
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (Photo: News18 File)
“If our state’s name is changed to Bangla, our children who participate in various competitions and go for studies will get priority. In every meeting, we are forced to wait till the end,” Mamata said
Trinamool Congress Chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wants to change the name of her state to ‘Bangla’, arguing that because it came at the bottom of the alphabetical list, its representatives are forced to wait till the end during meetings.
On Thursday, in her renewed call to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Central government, Banerjee pointed out that in the past also the name of Bombay was changed to Mumbai and Orissa to Odisha.
“We have earlier passed a Bill to change the name of our state in the Assembly. We have given them all sorts of clarifications. But for a long time, they have not changed the name of our state to Bangla,” Mamata Banerjee said in a press conference in Kolkata.
“Bombay’s name changed to Mumbai, Orissa to Odisha…but why can’t ours be changed? What is our fault,” Mamata asked.
Further highlighting the advantages the state will get if its name is changed, Mamata said that it will help the state’s children when they go to competitions.
“If our state’s name is changed to Bangla, our children who participate in various competitions and go for studies will get priority. In every meeting, we are forced to wait till the end. W, X, Y, Z. The importance of Bangla has been reduced,” Mamata said.
The Chief Minister said that there is no need to add ‘West’ to the name of the state.
Citing the example of Punjab, which is a state in India and a province in Pakistan, she said, “We don’t think there is no need to divide when the name of the state is Bangla. Pakistan has a province named Punjab. India too has a state named Punjab. If Bangladesh can stay Bangladesh internationally, why can’t West Bengal be changed to Bangla.”
West Bengal’s Demand For Name Change
The Trinamool Congress government had earlier raised the demand to change the state’s name to ‘Paschim Banga’ or ‘Paschim Bango’ when it came to power in 2011.
However, the Center rejected the state government’s proposal at the time.
The Opposition too ridiculed the move as “frivolous” and was perceived by several political commentators as the TMC government’s “inability” to deal with serious problems which confronted them.
However, the Trinamool government continued its push with a new proposal. After five years, the Mamata Banerjee government passed another resolution proposing the new names “Bongo” and “Bangla”.
