West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya said on Wednesday that the state will be renamed “Paschim Banga”. He said a bill will be introduced in the first session of the assembly.
When asked again about the name change, he told ANI: “How many times must I say, brother? The name will be ‘Paschim Banga’.” On Monday, he said names such as “Paschim Bangla”, “Bangla” and “Banga” would no longer be used.
He said the bill would link the state’s official name with its history and identity.
The idea has a long history. In 1999, the Left Front government proposed “Paschim Banga”. It was changed to “Bangla” after then Congress MLA Saugata Roy suggested it, but the Centre rejected it. After the Trinamool Congress came to power in 2011, the state proposed “Paschim Banga” again. The UPA-2 government turned it down.
In 2016, the state suggested three names: “Bangla” in Bengali, “Bengal” in English and “Bangal” in Hindi. It then proposed “Bangla” in all three languages. In July 2018, the assembly passed a resolution to rename the state “Bangla” and sent it to the Centre. It was not cleared. The Centre said a constitutional amendment was needed. Sources had earlier said the similarity between “Bangla” and Bangladesh could cause confusion at international forums. In 2019, then Union minister of state for home Nityanand Rai told the Rajya Sabha that the Centre had not approved the change.
Source: TOI
