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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Agnimitra Paul on Wednesday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her call to rename the state from West Bengal to 'Bangla', urging the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader to refrain from doing politics over the state's name.
Paul alleged that in her 15-year tenure, Banerjee has not delivered significant achievements for the state and has primarily engaged in political manoeuvres, accusing the Chief Minister of attempting to erase West Bengal's historical legacy. "What has Mamata Banerjee done in 15 years apart from politics?... West Bengal has a history... You want to change history by changing the name of West Bengal? You don't even observe Paschimbanga Dibas, you want to erase every history - that why West Bengal was created, why it was named West Bengal? You want to erase the contribution of Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee... Where have you taken Bengal while doing politics? Don't do politics over this.." Paul told ANI. The remarks come after Mamata Banerjee congratulated Kerala for its recent renaming to 'Keralam' and reminded the Central government that West Bengal's proposal to rename the state as 'Bangla' has been pending for years. According to an X post by TMC, the West Bengal CM said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "Bangla birodhi" (Opponents of Bangla), claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah have no respect for the state's heritage and language. TMC wrote, "Mamata Banerjee warmly congratulated the people of Kerala on the Union Cabinet's approval to rename their state 'Keralam'. At the same time, she reminded the Centre that a similar proposal to rename West Bengal as 'Bangla' has been lying buried for years." Mamata Banerjee said that West Bengal's "legitimate demand" should not be denied just because the state "refused to bow before the BJP". "Every election season, PM Narendra Modi and Amit Shah descend on Bengal, shedding crocodile tears and pretending to love our soil, our culture, our people. Spare us the drama. These Bangla-Birodhis have no respect for our heritage, no regard for our language, no honour for our icons, and zero concern for our dignity. We rejoice when any state asserts its identity, but Bengal will not accept this vindictive discrimination. Bengal's legitimate demand cannot be denied purely because we refuse to bow before the BJP high command," TMC wrote on X. Mamata renewed call for renaming the state, which comes ahead of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly elections, to be held later this year. The TMC will look to record a thumping victory yet again, while the BJP is also eyeing the power. (ANI)
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