BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya on Wednesday demanded that West Bengal be renamed “Paschim Banga”, saying the state’s name is closely linked to its history and the circumstances surrounding its creation in 1947.

Bhattacharya was speaking during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Kerala (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2026, which seeks to rename Kerala as “Keralam”. He welcomed the proposed change and said the people of Kerala had struggled for decades for the demand.

Congratulating the people of Keralam, Bhattacharya also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for facilitating the move. Turning his attention to West Bengal, the BJP leader criticised previous attempts by the Trinamool Congress government to rename the state as “Bengal”. He said such a move was proposed because the party had a majority in the state Assembly.

“West Bengal was born on June 20, 1947, under the leadership of Syama Prasad Mukherjee,” Bhattacharya said. He added that even the Congress had maintained that a separate state was necessary to protect the interests of Bengali Hindus.

He argued that changing the name of West Bengal to simply “Bengal” would be an insult to those who fought for the creation of a separate state for Bengali Hindus.

“West Bengal is not just a name; it has a history. We want the name to be changed to Paschim Banga,” he said. Bhattacharya also raised the issue of “Vande Mataram” and referred to Bengal’s historical association with both the song and opposition to it.

Citing the autobiography of CPI founder member Muzaffar Ahmed, he said Ahmed had criticised Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s “Vande Mataram” and “Anandamath”, describing them as carrying elements of hatred.

During his speech, Bhattacharya also supported a demand from another NDA member to rename Bihar’s capital Patna as Patliputra and a railway station in Nalanda district currently known as Bakhtiyarpur.