Briefing journalists after the meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said that while the Chief Minister was not totally satisfied with this change, she favoured a consensus approach. The parties that attended the meeting included the Trinamool Congress, the Indian National Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India, the Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party.
‘PaschimBanga' has emerged as the consensus choice of all political parties in the State, which sat together in Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's chamber in the Legislative Assembly to discuss a new name for West Bengal.
Mr. Chatterjee said that while this name would be in sync with the State's historical background, it would afford some administrative advantages also. Opposition leader SurjyaKanta Mishra said there was consensus on the new name. Mr. Chatterjee said all parties took part in the meeting, which was also attended by the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary.
Earlier this month, the Chief Minister called an all-party meeting at the Secretariat where, after some discussions, it was decided to set up a two-member committee to discuss the issue among themselves and with historians. The committee comprised Mr. Chatterjee and Dr. Mishra.
Mr. Chatterjee said on Friday that they had talked with historians and a few names had come up, of which ‘PaschimBanga' was uniformly favoured by all on Friday.
He said an Act would have to be passed in Parliament to make possible this name change; a constitutional amendment will have to be made on the basis of a resolution passed in the Assembly.
Bifurcation of districts
On the issue of district bifurcation which, too, was discussed at the all-party meet, Mr. Chatterjee said that while everyone agreed on the need, Ms. Banerjee said the matter would be discussed keeping all aspects in mind.
The State government felt that for toning administration, it was necessary to bifurcate some of the larger districts as most other Indian States have already done. “It also helps in getting a larger slice of Central funds,” the Chief Minister had said. However, like the name change issue, this too was sent for a discussion by all the political parties.
It was decided that district magistrates would hold talks with district level leaders on this issue.
Four more districts
The State government wants to create four more districts (it has 19 now) by bifurcating Jalpaiguri in North Bengal, and Bardhaman, Paschim Medinipur, and North 24 Parganas in South Bengal. The Left had maintained that they too had felt the need, but had not implemented the plan.
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