New Delhi: Minister of State Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Babul Supriyo on Tuesday welcomed the Mamata Banerjee government's initiative to rename West Bengal.
The state government has proposed to rename West Bengal as "Bengal", dropping "West" from its name, in English and 'Bongo' or `Bangla` in Bengali.
Talking to reporters, Supriyo said he welcomed the step, but the name should not be `Bongo`, which is a musical instrument. He also tweeted his views on the issue.
Bangla is Good, but definitely not BONGO•Bongo is an instrument that is played (Bajano hoe)!Do not want people 2 crack dirty pun about it
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) August 2, 2016
Bengal in English is fantastic & makes a great pair with Bangla the State & it's language Bangla Bhasha - but not BONGO PLEASEEEEEE
— Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) August 2, 2016
In Bengali, the state is currently referred to as "Paschim Banga" or "Paschim Bangla".
The government in 2011 too had undertaken a similar exercise, adopting "Paschimbanga" as the name of the state.
