CM Mamata Banerjee asks Centre to change West Bengal's name to 'Bangla'

Trinamool Congress government has been pressing for the renaming of West Bengal since 2011. Paschim Banga, Paschim Bango, Bongo, and Bangla were among some of the suggestions

All India Trinamool Congress party leader and chief minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, pressed the central government to change the state's name from West Bengal to "Bangla '' during a press conference on Thursday. The chief minister questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre on why West Bengal was being excluded from states that were able to change their names.

This comes days after the municipal body of Ghaziabad decided to change its name. Under the BJP government, several cities, landmarks, train stations, and regions in India have been renamed. This includes Gurugram from Gurgaon in 2016, Prayagraj from Allahabad in 2018, Atal Nagar from New Raipur, and Ayodhya from Faizabad, among others.

The Trinamool Congress government had requested the central government to change the state's name when it first came to power in 2011. "Paschim Banga" and "Paschim Bango" were among the suggestions for the new name. Five years later, Mamata Banerjee again proposed new names, including "Bongo" or "Bangla". Now, the chief minister has once again pressed the issue with the Centre, months ahead of the 2024 general elections.

Banerjee referred to Bombay's name change to Mumbai and Orissa to Odisha as examples of aligning state and city names with the cultural identities and languages present in the region.

The chief minister also told PTI that they have already passed a Bill in the state Assembly on the matter. "For a long time, they (Centre) have not changed the name of our state to Bangla," she said.

The CM also argued that the name change would give priority to the state as alphabetically "Bangla" would come far ahead of "West Bengal".

She said, "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."

Additionally, there was no need to have the term "West" attached to the name of the state. She gave Pakistan as an example, which too has a province named Punjab, adjoining the Indian state of the same name. Banerjee stated that nothing had been done to distinguish India's Punjab from Pakistan's.

The chief minister has also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to designate the Gangasagar Mela a national fair. The state has reportedly spent Rs 250 crore on the fair this year and anticipates more than 10 million people to attend.

(With agency inputs)