Bengal Government To Introduce Bill For Renaming State To 'Paschimbanga'

The BJP-led state government is set to bring a bill at the Legislative Assembly regarding officially changing West Bengal's name to "Paschimbanga" in English, the party's state chief Samik Bhattacharya said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in north Bengal's Jalpaiguri, Bhattacharya noted that West Bengal has a distinct political history, and figures like Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Acharya Debaprasad Ghosh wished to not have it forgotten.

The state government is taking significant steps with this in mind, he said.

Bhattacharya had raised the same issue in the Rajya Sabha earlier, submitting that the name of the state should be changed to Paschimbanga in all languages.

"West Bengal exists. This demand is not merely that of Shamik Bhattacharya or Suvendu Adhikari, nor is it solely the demand of Bharatiya Janata Party workers. Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee and later Debaprasad Ghosh, during his tenure as Acharya, also held the view that this history must not be forgotten," he said.

"Everyone was familiar with the regions of Anga, Vanga, and Kalinga. When West Bengal as a state came into being on June 20, 1947, the Hindu MLAs belonging to the Congress party voted in favour of that proposal. That is the history," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

He also noted that the state will not be named as 'Bangla' or 'Banga', taking a swipe at the erstwhile Trinamool Congress government's push to rename the state to those names.

"The name will be 'Paschimbanga' whether in Bengali or English. That is, The state government is bringing a bill, and 'Paschimbanga' will be established as soon as possible," he said.

During the Trinamool Congress regime, former chief miniser Mamata Banerjee time and again emphasised over the change of state name from West Bengal to Bengal. Alphabetically, 'W' comes at the end of any national level meeting, was the justification over her demand.

The related bill was passed in the Legislative Assembly by the Trinamool government. However, an approval was not given by the Centre.