Kolkata: The West Bengal Assembly, on September 7, adopted a resolution with a majority vote to designate April 15 as "Bengal Day," celebrating Poila Baisakh, the Bengali New Year. This decision comes in contrast to the earlier announcement by the Central government, designating June 20 as West Bengal Foundation Day. The Mamata Banerjee-led government in West Bengal has chosen to commemorate the state's foundation on the first day of the Bengali New Year, typically occurring on April 14 or 15.

On June 19, Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, urging him to refrain from organizing an event at Raj Bhavan on June 20 to observe West Bengal Foundation Day. In her communication, the Chief Minister emphasized that the state was not founded on a specific date, particularly not on June 20. She expressed astonishment and disapproval of the decision to commemorate that date as the "State Foundation Day of West Bengal."

The resolution received approval from 167 members out of 294 in the House, who voted in favor of it. However, 62 MLAs from the BJP, which advocates for observing June 20 as the state day, voted against it. Additionally, a lone MLA from the ISF chose to abstain from voting.

Under Rule 169, a resolution was presented in the assembly, proposing the celebration of Poila Baisakh as "Bangla Diwas" (Bengal Day) and declaring Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore's 'Banglar Mati, Banglar Jol' (Bengal's soil, Bengal's Water) as the official state song. Chief Minister Banerjee voiced her support for this proposal and emphasized that the people of Bengal do not endorse June 20 as the state foundation day due to its association with violence and bloodshed during partition.

Bengali New Year, known as "Poila Baisakh" or "Pohela Boishakh," is a significant cultural and traditional celebration in the Bengali community, primarily observed in the Indian state of West Bengal and the neighboring country of Bangladesh. It marks the first day of the Bengali calendar and typically falls on April 14th or 15th of the Gregorian calendar.

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