Raj Bhavan insiders said that the celebrations of West Bengal Foundation Day, which began on June 20, 2023, lack the pomp and grandeur that the same event had last year.
Insiders said June 20 has been chosen as the West Bengal Foundation Day because on the same day in 1947, the then Bengal Legislative Assembly held a meeting to decide whether the Bengal Presidency would remain with India or Pakistan, or Will get divided due to Hindu majority. The districts annexed to India form West Bengal and the Muslim-majority areas forming East Pakistan.
However, the ruling Trinamool Congress has been against celebrating the day as it believes that the date historically symbolizes the pain of partition. Instead, the state government decided to choose Bengali New Year Day as the date to celebrate West Bengal Foundation Day through a resolution passed in the state assembly last year.
“Only last year when the Governor started celebrating West Bengal Foundation Day on June 20, our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had requested him not to do so. But he did not agree. We cannot stop him from doing this. But we are not participating,” a state cabinet member said on condition of anonymity.
Commenting on the development, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the historical significance of June 20 can never be changed or ignored.
“Last year the President of India declared June 20 as West Bengal Foundation Day. If Dr. Shyam Prasad Mukhopadhyay had not been there, we would not have been able to live in independent India. A party can implement certain things because of its numerical supremacy in the assembly. But this does not mean that history can be changed,” the official said.
Insiders said June 20 has been chosen as the West Bengal Foundation Day because on the same day in 1947, the then Bengal Legislative Assembly held a meeting to decide whether the Bengal Presidency would remain with India or Pakistan, or Will get divided due to Hindu majority. The districts annexed to India form West Bengal and the Muslim-majority areas forming East Pakistan.
However, the ruling Trinamool Congress has been against celebrating the day as it believes that the date historically symbolizes the pain of partition. Instead, the state government decided to choose Bengali New Year Day as the date to celebrate West Bengal Foundation Day through a resolution passed in the state assembly last year.
“Only last year when the Governor started celebrating West Bengal Foundation Day on June 20, our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had requested him not to do so. But he did not agree. We cannot stop him from doing this. But we are not participating,” a state cabinet member said on condition of anonymity.
Commenting on the development, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari claimed that the historical significance of June 20 can never be changed or ignored.
“Last year the President of India declared June 20 as West Bengal Foundation Day. If Dr. Shyam Prasad Mukhopadhyay had not been there, we would not have been able to live in independent India. A party can implement certain things because of its numerical supremacy in the assembly. But this does not mean that history can be changed,” the official said.
