A fortnight before the famous Kumbh Mela, Union Home Ministry has approved the Uttar Pradesh government’s move to rename Allahabad as Prayagraj. A ‘No Objection Certificate'(NOC) from the MHA will now ensure that names of other institutes in the district, including railway station, High Court and university, are also changed.
However, The Proposal to rename West Bengal as ‘Bangla’ is pending as the Ministry of External Affairs is understood to have expressed its reservation over the new name, as it sounds similar to Bangladesh.
In July last year, The West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution to change the name of the state to ‘Bangla’ in all three languages i.e. Bengali, Englis, and Hindi.
Confirming the Development, A Senior MHA Official told an English News Daily, “There are some Central institutes, High Court, railway station and organizations named after Allahabad. Letters have been sent to other Central ministries informing that the Home Ministry has approved the proposal of the UP government. The state government will now get approval from other Central ministries and change the names accordingly”.
As per the rules, for changing the name of any town or city an executive order is needed. While the renaming of a state requires amendment of the Constitution with a simple majority in Parliament.