TMC seeks renaming of West Bengal as 'Bangla'
New Delhi, Feb 4 (PTI): The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday demanded renaming of West Bengal as 'Bangla', saying this carries the signature of the state's history and culture.
Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention in the Rajya Sabha, party MP Ritabrata Banerjee said the West Bengal Assembly had in July 2018 unanimously passed a resolution for renaming the state but the Centre has not yet agreed to it.
He said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the "re-christening will be in consonance with the history, culture, and identity of our state and will reflect the aspirations of our people".
The 1947 partition divided Bengal -- the Indian side was called West Bengal and the other side was named East Pakistan. In 1971, East Pakistan declared independence and a new nation of Bangladesh was formed.
Today, there is no East Pakistan, he said. "Our state's name needs to be changed. The mandate of the people of West Bengal needs to be honoured."
The name of any state was last changed in 2011, when Orissa became Odisha.
Many cities have seen name changes over the years. These include Bombay, which was changed to Mumbai in 1995, Madras to Chennai in 1996, Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, and Bangalore to Bengaluru in 2014.
BJD's Debashish Samantaray sought national festival status for Bali Jatra.
The festival is held on the banks of Mahanadi river every year to mark the time of the year when mariners from the state set sail to Bali, Sumatra and Java in Indonesia, Borneo and Sri Lanka in ancient times for the expansion of trade and culture.
Saket Gokhale of TMC wanted the benefit of cheaper ethanol in petrol be passed to consumers while his party colleague Sushmita Dev wanted river Barak in Assam to be dredged and the waterway to be used for movement of goods.
BJP's Kavita Patidar demanded water conservation methods such as ground water recharging be used to solve the problem of flooding of railway line underpasses.
PT Usha (Nominated) sought setting up of AIIMS at Kinaloor in Kozhikode district of Kerala.
Raising the issue of impact of climate change on agriculture, S Selvaganabathy (BJP) said erratic weather patterns have impacted crop yield, causing great loss to farmers.
He wanted new varieties of seeds that withstand weather vagaries to be tested.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
