Mamata drags feet on renaming Bengal

Sources in the Trinamool Congress,meanwhile,said the state government does not want to push its case,as it felt there were other priority jobs as of now. The huge expenditure involved in the name change exercise was a key concern,they added.

Last year,when Mamata had announced to change the name of the state,things moved rapidly. A draft bill was placed in the Assembly on September 2,2011 and it was passed the next day unanimously.

Necessary legislative procedures followed with the bill being sent to the President. The procedure for name change involves getting the bill passed in Parliament after obtaining the Presidential assent.

Significantly,the issue was widely debated with the Chief Minister declaring that the name,Paschimbanga,will ensure that the state gets a better alphabetical pegging order. It was argued that West Bengal had to always present itself towards the end at national meets and workshops. A consensus was reached after several rounds of all-party meetings were held in the Assembly.

As of now,the fate of the bill is not known and the state government is said to be waiting for the Presidential assent.

The bill was sent to the parliamentary affairs department on September 7,2011,but the state government and the TMC MPs never raised the issue in Parliament or pursued it to be presented in the Lok Sabha.

A senior TMC leader said: “Even though the bill was sent for the Presidential assent,the state government never pushed it. We have been told to go slow on the issue as the change in name of the state involves huge expenses. Everything carrying the name of the state,ranging from stamp papers,number plates of the vehicles to government stationery,have to be changed.”

Several state government departments had calculated the ensuing financial burden. The transport department,for instance,estimated that the makeover cost will run into crores as the number plates of around 36 lakhs vehicles registered in the state would have to be changed.