West Bengal assembly passes resolution on name change
West Bengal Legislative Assembly yesterday passed a resolution for changing the state's name from West Bengal to "Bangla" in Bengali and "Bengal" in English.
For the resolution to be formalised, it now awaits approvals of the governor of the state, both houses of Indian parliament -- the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, and the president of India.
However, Mamata Banerjee, the chief minister of West Bengal, at a press conference following the passing of the resolution said she would make the official use of the new name effective from yesterday and she has already started using it by registering her attendance in Bengali.
Referring to the "Joy Bangla" slogan chanted by Bangladeshis, Mamata said the slogan of her state will be "Joyo Bangla".
The resolution was placed before the state legislative assembly at 2:00pm yesterday and 189 out of 294 state legislators voted for it while 31 opposed it.
The Congress and the BJP staged a walkout before the commencement of discussion on the resolution. The Left Front remained in the assembly, but abstained from voting on it.
During the press conference Mamata Banerjee blasted the opposition for their stand against the resolution, saying that the opposition had committed a historical blunder, which will be mentioned in the history of the state.
Seeking cooperation from the central government for the swift implementation of the resolution, Mamata said she will soon raise the issue with Rajnath Singh, home minister of India.
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