The state government will hold a meeting at Nabanna Sabhaghar to discuss the Foundation Day of West Bengal. Never in the past the state’s Foundation Day was celebrated during the Congress regime from 1947 to 1977 including 1965 and 1969. Even during the Left Front regime from 1977 to 2011, the Foundation Day was never celebrated. The Centre had decided to celebrate the Foundation Day on 20 June and despite objection from chief minister Mamata Banerjee, the saffron party observed it at Raj Bhavan. No history book mentions the Foundation Day of West Bengal.
On 20 June, 1947, 81 members of the Legislative Council met to decide whether a united Bengal should be a separate country, a proposal floated by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Sarat Chandra Bose. Of the 81 legislators, 58 Congress councillors voted against the proposal and one Congress legislator abstained. Two independent legislators also abstained from voting. Two Communist legislators Jyoti Basu and Ratanlal Bramhin voted against the proposal along with three legislators from Jan Sangh.
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After the meeting, Syamaprasad Mookerjee went to Gandhiji at Sodepur and requested him not to support the united Bengal proposal, as a double assurance. Later, Nehru and Patel also rejected it. BJP is trying to highlight the event and wants to celebrate the day as the Foundation Day of Bengal.