Mamata sticks to decision on renaming Indira Bhavan

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today made it clear she would not change her decision to rename Indira Bhavan and reiterated her charge that its ally Congress was colluding with the CPI-M to organise sit-ins and road blockades.

Most of the roads, establishments and projects in the country were named after Congress leaders and when the state government took an initiative to rechristen Indira Bhavan as Nazrul Bhavan they (Congress) were trying to foment trouble, Banerjee alleged.

Indira Bhavan was named so after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had stayed in the bungalow at Salt lake during the AICC session in 1972.

"There are so many roads, institutions and projects which were named after their leaders. There should be some left for other great people who took part in the freedom movement and worked for development," she said speaking at a programme of the West Bengal Minorities Development and Finance Corporation.

The chief minister stuck to her charge that Congress was colludingwith CPI-M to organise dharnas and road blockades in the state, but said "those who are doing this, cannot stall the development process."

She said Nazrul Islam was not a leader of any single community. He was a national leader who left his mark in the freedom movement through his writings.

"An Indo-Bangla joint research academy on Nazrul will help us carry forward studies on the great poet and strengthen bilateral ties with Bangladesh," Banerjee said.