West Bengal to be renamed: Bengal is fine but no Bongo please, says Babul Supriyo

The West Bengal Cabinet has decided to rename the state as `Bangla` or `Bongo` in Bengali and `Bengal` in English.

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.

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.