CALCUTTA PTI: The Left Front Government in west Bengal is all set to embark on a cultural exercise, seeking to change the nomenclature of the state from “west Bengal’ to a simple Banga” as Bengal is poetically described by Rabindranath Tagore in the national anthem.
Though the move may trigger off a fresh controversy, the government seems determined to stick to its stand. If all goes well as the government desires, state chief minister Jyou Basumay announce the new name of the state on April 14, the Bengali New Year Day. The issue has gained impetus with the advent of the new century — the 1400th year in the Bengali calendar.
A change of the state’s name would need a change in the constitutional schedule and a host of other formalities.
A similar move, which later fell flat, had been undertaken when Saroj Mukherjce was the Left Front chairman.
The fortnight also witnessed the insipid inauguration of the budget session of the state assembly with Governor Prof Nur ul Hasan, in his address virtually admitting that the state was in the grip of an economic stagnation.
The lackluster session goes on with members of both the opposition and the treasury showing scant interest in the proceedings and the attendance plunging abysmally.
Article extracted from this publication >> March 19, 1993
