Kolkata, Aug 20 (IANS) Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee feels that the name changing exercise from West Bengal to Paschimbanga is "totally immaterial", contending that the impact that a state can make at the national level does not depend on the alphabetical order but on the strength of the case it presents.


The Trinamool Congress-headed government and the opposition agreed Friday to rechristen the state as Paschimbanga as the name West Bengal, which begins with the letter 'W', meant the state figured last at inter-state discussions due to the alphabetical order of things.

"I personally feel that the exercise is totally immaterial as the impact that a state would make on a particular issue depends on the strength of the case and proposals presented by the state and not on the alphabetical order," Chatterjee told IANS.

The rechristening of West Bengal has left many, especially the younger generation, disappointed after the frenzy that had caught on among the people with several possible names being tossed around.