Status: Not ApprovedHEAD: 24_Kol_SS_CM Keralam Byline: Saibal SenTNN Kolkata “The BJP-CPM alliance isn’t unwritten any more,” CM Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday, reacting sharply to the Centre overlooking the Bengal name change proposal while hastening to change Kerala to Keralam. The CM said, “One day, you (BJP) will not be in power. We will get the name changed.” Reacting to the cabinet’s Kerala name change, the CM said, “I would like to congratulate the brothers and sisters of Kerala on the decision to rename the state as Keralam. The names of several states are changed once such proposals are endorsed by the respective state govts. However, the same was not the case with West Bengal. When our students go for exams or interviews, they are called at the end since the name of the state begins with ‘W’, which comes at the end alphabetically. I too face the same problem. I get the chance to speak at the end as I am the chief minister of West Bengal.” The CM said, “Based on the culture of the state, we wanted to rename West Bengal as Bangla. In this regard, we passed resolutions twice in the Legislative Assembly. After we were told that the name of the state should be the same in Hindi, Bengali and English, we passed a resolution again to rename the state as Bangla in all 3 languages.” She said, “Whenever I met PM Modi and HM Amit Shah, I raised this issue. However, much to my surprise, nothing happened. I think they are not approving it because they are anti-Bengali. They disrespect the icons and visionaries of Bengal. They only use the word ‘Bangla’ during polls to get electoral benefit. That is why they did not give the approval to rename the state.” Taking a jibe, the CM said, “Kerala was renamed since there is an alliance growing between the BJP and the CPIM. The alliance is not unwritten any more after today. Why will Bengal face deprivation always?” The Centre allowed Calcutta to be renamed as Kolkata in 2001. After this the renaming of the state found resonance since there is no East Bengal, for West Bengal to remain. After taking office in 2011, CM Banerjee first mooted a proposal that West Bengal should be named ‘Pashchim Banga’. The CPM and Congress, then in opposition, backed it. The Centre turned it down. Again on August 29, 2016, 3 names were proposed by the Bengal assembly: Bangla in Bengali, Bengal in English and Bangal in Hindi. Unfortunately, it was once again turned down by the Centre on the grounds that a state cannot have 3 names. On July 26, 2018, a single name was proposed. It was resolved in the Bengal assembly that the name should be ‘Bangla’. But this too was turned down as it sounded like Bangladesh. Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told reporters, “CM Mamata Banerjee appealed before the centre to change the name of West Bengal to Bangla, following recommendations from historians and academics to intellectuals. In the national meets where different states can present their demands, representatives from Bengal can speak at the very last since our state’s name starts with W. If the name starts with B, we can present our demands in such meets at a much earlier stage and thus can capture the attention of those in charge. The BJP is agreeing to the demands of the CPM-run govt in Kerala but not in our case. I wonder if there is any fresh setting between the 2 parties. Here too, CPM voters cast their votes to BJP.” MSID:: 128754410 413 |
