West Bengal to be renamed Paschimbanga

KOLKATA: A consensus to rename West Bengal as Paschimbanga was today reached at an all-party meeting to change the nomenclature of the state.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee suggested the new name and unanimity was reached on it, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee told reporters after the meeting in the state assembly.

"It has been unanimously decided that state's new name will be Paschimbanga from now in all languages," he said.

"We wanted a change in the name of the state to get the administrative advantage," he said.

The chief minister presided over the meeting attended by Trinamool Congress, besides ally Congress and SUCI(C), Left Front constituents CPI-M, CPI, RSP, Forward Bloc as also GJM, among other parties.

Banerjee had earlier empowered Chatterjee and Leader of the Opposition Surjyakanta Mishra to study the new name for the state.