Assembly passes Bill, Uttaranchal becomes Uttarakhand

Dehradun, Oct 12 (UNI) The Uttaranchal Assembly today passed a bill with majority changing the name of the hill state to Uttarakhand.

Participating in the discussion, Uttaranchal BJP chief Bhagat Singh Koshiyari expressed satisfaction that the bill found widespread support cutting across party lines.

Earlier, the bill was presented by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridayesh in the House.

Uttarakhand Kranti Dal leader Kashi Singh Airy said both the Congress and the BJP should be given equal credit for the inception of the state, though the name 'Uttaranchal,' given by the BJP, did not reflect the people's aspirations who ''fought the movement for a separate state in the name of Uttarakhand''.

However, when BJP member Ajay Bhatt said that changing the name of the state would cost crores of rupees, Congress legislator Subodh Uniyal countered by saying ''crores of rupees were wasted in the Ayodhya episode too''.

Taking strong exception to the mentioning of Ayodhya, BJP members started shouting. But the din did not hold the bill from passing by majority.

UNI XC YA HT1908