Kolkata: The committee formed for determining the date for celebrating ‘Paschim Banga Divas’ in the state has recommended ‘Poila Baisakh’ (April 15), which marks the beginning of Bengali New Year, to be observed as ‘Paschim Banga Divas’.
A discussion on the matter will be held on the floor of the Assembly and then the recommendation in this regard will be sent to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for final approval.
The committee constituted by the state legislative Assembly sat for a meeting on Monday where ‘Poila Baisakh’ was unanimously selected by the members.
According to sources, the committee has delved deep into historical aspects associated with the state of Bengal before recommending the date.
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly had constituted a committee to determine a day for the celebration of Paschim Banga Divas in the state with Asish Banerjee, Deputy Speaker of the state Assembly as the convenor and Harvard Professor Sugata Bose as an advisor.
State Parliamentary Affairs minister Sobhandeb Chattopadhyay, Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim, state Education minister Bratya Basu, Minister of State for Panchayats and Rural Development Seuli Saha, are the members of the committee who attended the meeting.
“The Governor had celebrated Paschim Banga Divas at Raj Bhavan in a one-sided manner on June 20 without consulting the elected government of the state. We do not approve of such an act by the Governor,” Chattopadhyay said.
The committee held a detailed meeting at the chamber of Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee last Friday.
Poila Baisakh, August 15 (Independence Day) and May 28 (when a resolution of christening West Bengal as Paschim Banga was adopted in the Assembly) were discussed in the meeting but finally Bengali New Year’s Day, first proposed by Bratya Basu on Friday was supported by Sugata Bose and all the members agreed on the same.