The Union Cabinet on Tuesday (24 February 2026) approved the state government’s proposal to change the name of Kerala to ‘Keralaam’. Regarding this, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee targeted the Center and accused it of discriminating against Bengal. He said that the Bengal Assembly passed the proposal to change the name of the state to Bangla twice, but the Center has not yet given approval.
Mamta Banerjee targets the center
CM Mamata Banerjee said, ‘The name of West Bengal starts with W, hence the students of Bengal get the last chance in interviews and they themselves get the chance in national meetings.’ He alleged that BJP does not respect the sentiments of Bengalis and uses the word Bangla only during elections. CM Mamata said, ‘Due to the growing alliance of BJP and CPIM in Kerala, it became easy to change the name there. One day the power will change and we will definitely change the name of West Bengal.
TMC is demanding to change the name of the state
Ever since TMC came to power in Bengal, it has been demanding to change the name of the state. Last month, TMC MP Ritabrata Banerjee had raised this issue during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha. He demanded changing the name of West Bengal to ‘Bangla’, saying that this name reflects the history and culture of the state. He had said, ‘The West Bengal Assembly had unanimously passed the proposal to change the name of the state in July 2018, but the central government has not yet given approval.’
According to the TMC MP, CM Mamata Banerjee had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this issue. After forming the government in 2011, TMC had suggested the Center to change the name of the state. After this he proposed to change the name of Sal state to Bongo or Bangla.
Center approves proposal to change name of Kerala
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said that in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the proposal to change the name of Kerala state to ‘Keralaam’ was approved. After the approval of the Union Cabinet, President Draupadi Murmu will send the Bill titled Kerala (Change of Name) Bill, 2026 to the Kerala State Assembly for consideration under the provision of Article 3 of the Constitution of India. The Kerala Assembly had passed a resolution to change the name of Kerala to ‘Keralaam’ on June 24, 2024.
