After having played the game changer in successive elections routing the left Front from power, Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have gone into a “name changing mode.”
loath to allow “publicity to the Centre with State money”, Banerjee is planning to afford new caption to a plethora of schemes largely funded by the Centre. Such schemes would now sound less “politically indicative and more non-aligned ones,” sources at the State secretariat said.
Among the most important Central labels to alter at the altar is the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojna. The State is planning to scrap the current appellation of the scheme and change it into a “more acceptable” Government Sadak Yojna or a similar title, senior State Minister Subroto Mukherjee said.
“We have no problems with the schemes which are wholly funded by the Centre. It is their prerogative to conceive the scheme, plan it, name it and fund the way they want. But where there is a partnership involving the State Government the scheme should carry a more reasonable title,” Mukherjee said.
“The Centre has withdrawn funding in a host of schemes and in many cases they have reduced the amount of money they used to send earlier.
We currently have to pay more than 40 per cent, almost 50 per cent of the funds for the PMGSY and they take political benefit of it all. So why should it be named after the Prime Minister” he wondered adding “we have decided to change the name to make it sound less political and more neutral.
The BJP promptly cried hoarse terming it a politically motivated move. “This is nothing but politics. The Trinamool Congress is trying to derive cheap publicity from such issues.”
The State has already rechristened the names of highly popular schemes Swaccha Bharat introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi into Nirmal Bangla Abhiyan. Even the Rajiv Gandhi Awaas Yojna named after a person who the Chief Minister idolises as her mentor was changed into House for All scheme.
“The fund that is given does not belong to any particular person or a party. Then why such schemes should be allowed to be named to allow political mileage to persons or political groupsIJ” a Minister asked adding “the Centre should understand that the regions have become conscious of the very idea of federalism which should start from naming and renaming schemes.”
Meanwhile, controversy tended to erupt over another renaming programme of the Chief Minister who had earlier decided to rechristen West Bengal as Bango in Bengali and Bengal in English so that the State scrambles up the ladder alphabetically to its advantage during inter-state discussions in Delhi.