TMC MPs meet PM, demand steps to rename Bengal

Trinamool Congress MPs on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged him to expedite measures to change the name of West Bengal to 'Bangla'.

A 12-member delegation led by Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha leader Sudip Bandopadhyay and Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien requested the Prime Minister to bring a Constitution Amendment Bill to change the name, a demand which has been pending for sometime.

On July 3, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai has told Rajya Sabha that it has not cleared the proposal of the West Bengal government.

O'Brien told reporters that the delegation submitted letters written by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to the Centre over the renaming of the state.

"We requested him to bring the bill very quickly, maybe in the ongoing Parliament session itself. We can do this. Recent example is the change of the name of Orissa to Odisha," O'Brien said.

After the government had informed West Bengal that its initial proposal to have three names was not permissible, the state Assembly had passed a second unanimous resolution urging the government to rename the state as "Bangla".

Trinamool Congress' opposition to disinvestment of public sector units were also conveyed to the Prime Minister and urged him to step back from the move.