Let there be a state song of Bengal in lines with National Song: Speaker

Kolkata, Aug 22 (IANS) West Bengal Assembly Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay on Tuesday proposed to have a state song in line with the National Song.

“Different states have their own state songs. But in West Bengal still there is none. A National Song is applicable for the entire country. So the state song is applicable for that state. So if West Bengal too has a state song of its own, it would be excellent,” the Speaker said.

The Indian states already having their own state songs include Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Odisha and Tamil Nadu, among others.

The Speaker’s proposal comes at a time when the ruling Trinamool Congress has already decided to pass a proposal during the extended monsoon session of the Assembly that got underway on Tuesday to celebrate 'Poila Boishakh'
(Bengal New Years’ Day) as the state day.

The West Bengal State Day Identification Committee has already given a proposal on this count which is waiting for the final approval of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

“Now the Speaker’s proposal to have a state music in lines of the National Song will also be considered actively. Maybe there will be the requirement for creation of a separate committee to identify the song which will be selected as the State Song,” said a member of the state cabinet.

Earlier, there had been a tussle between the state government and the Raj Bhavan after Governor C.V. Ananda Bose celebrated West Bengal Foundation Day within the Governor’s House premises on June 20. The development attracted scathing criticisms from the chief minister who said that she is stunned at the decision of the Governor on this count.

She even sent a communiqué to the Governor, claiming that since inception the people of the state have never rejoiced or commemorated or celebrated any day as the foundation day of West Bengal.

“Rather we have seen the partition as a result of unleashing of communal forces that could not be resisted at that point of time,” the letter read.  She had also said that she strongly protests against this “ahistorical, unconstitutional and unilateral decision” of the Union government to commemorate the “so-called Foundation Day of West Bengal” on June 20,” she said in the communiqué.