The Indian state of West Bengal will get a new name– Paschimbanga.
The decision was taken yesterday at an all-party meeting. Now a resolution would be moved in the House for adoption of the new name, and then referred to the federal Indian government, said Partha Chatterjee, state parliamentary affairs minister, to reporters after the meeting of the state legislature.
Once a bill is passed by two-thirds majority in Indian parliament and ratified by the president, the state would get the new name.
The name was picked from among the suggestions of Paschimbanga, Bangla and Bangabhumi, said sources.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suggested the name and all people present at the meeting unanimously agreed on that, said Chatterjee.
“We wanted a change in the name of the state to get administrative advantage,” he said.
Mamata had asked Chatterjee and leader of the opposition Surjyakanta Mishra of CPI (M) to suggest new names for the state.
Chatterjee said the letter “w” in West Bengal is far down the alphabetical order, resulting in disadvantage for the state.
“Paschimbanga as a new name also mirrors history,” he added.
Moves had been made to rename West Bengal once in 1974 during Congress rule and in 1999 when Left Front was in power. But the moves were fruitless due to various reasons.
Courtesy of The Daily Star
