POLITICS
What happened on 20 June 1947 & why Mamata’s called all-party meet to decide Bengal statehood day
- Admin
- Aug 28, 2023
What happened on 20 June 1947 & why Mamata’s called all-party meet to decide Bengal statehood day
Raj Bhavan observed 20 June as statehood day in line with home ministry circular. Ruling TMC wants it on Bengali new year day as 20 June is 'reminder of 1947 communal holocaust'
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called for an all-party meeting at the state secretariat on 29 August to discuss a new date for ‘Paschim Banga Divas’, or statehood day.
The move comes after a committee appointed by the state assembly’s Speaker Tuesday submitted a note proposing that ‘Poila Baishakh’, the Bengali new year, be observed as West Bengal’s statehood day. Raj Bhavan — the official residence of Governor C. V. Ananda Bose — had observed statehood day on 20 June this year, that Mamata had fiercely opposed.The Speaker-appointed committee has also recommended Rabindranath
song ‘Banglar Mati Banglar Jol’ — penned in protest of the partition of Bengal — as the state anthem, citing other states that have their own song.
Historian and former MP of the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), professor Sugata Bose, told ThePrint that 20 June reminds one of the “communal holocaust” of 1947. “The Bengal assembly decided on this day if United Bengal should be partitioned. It is a sad footnote of the tragic history of Partition.”
He further said: “While there is no precedent of West Bengal observing a statehood day until earlier this year, the BJP has been marking 20 June as statehood day as their founder Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookerjee wanted Partition for the Hindus. While PM Modi blames Pandit Nehru for the Partition, we see them celebrate Bengal’s statehood day that goes against the idea of Bengal.”
Bose, who is adviser to the Speaker-appointed committee that includes Deputy Speaker Asish Banerjee, ministers Firhad Hakim, Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay and Bratya Basu — set up to decide on an alternative date for statehood day — also suggested that Tagore’s ‘Banglar Mati Banglar Jol’ be made the state’s anthem.
Bengal Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay told ThePrint, “The governor marked West Bengal statehood day without consulting us. The honourable CM has asked for an alternative date and we have submitted our suggestions. The decision will be finalised after the all-party meeting.”
The TMC is likely to move a resolution in the assembly after next week’s all-party meet to officially fix the statehood day date.
