‘Why not Bangla?’: Mamata Banerjee questions Centre after Kerala renamed Keralam

Kolkata: Alleging that the BJP-CPI(M) alliance has become evident with the name change of Kerala ahead of the assembly polls, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday attacked the Centre for not renaming West Bengal to 'Bangla'. "It is evident that the BJP-CPI(M) alliance is becoming strong before the assembly elections. The alliance is not unwritten anymore," Banerjee said. She, however, congratulated the people of Kerala for the name change. "We love all the states and the name change of other states are welcome. We congratulate the brothers and sisters of Kerala on renaming the state as Keralam."

Banerjee vowed to get Bengal's name changed when BJP is out of power as she questioned why Bengal's name was not renamed despite repeated requests. "Bengal's culture, richness and language is well known. But Bengal's students suffer in various examinations or interviews as the name comes last due to alphabetical order," Banerjee emphasised. "I too face the same problem. I get the chance to speak at the end despite being the CM of West Bengal," she said.

Calling the Centre's stance "anti-Bengal", Banerjee said that they (BJP) talk about Bengal and Bengali only during the polls. Banerjee claimed that she had twice passed the proposal in the Bengal assembly and even written a letter to PM Narendra Modi on the matter.