Parliament passes bill to change orissa’s name into ’Odisha’

Mangaloretoday News Network

New Delhi, March 24: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday passed a bill to change the name of Orissa to ’Odisha’ and an amendment in the constitution to rename Oriya language as ’Odiya’.

"The name of the state specified as Orissa in the First Schedule of the Constitution be changed as Odisha," Home Minister P Chidambaram said while introducing the bill in the Rajya Sabha.

The Orissa (Alteration of Name) Bill, 2010, and the Constitution (113th Amendment) Bill, 2010, for the change of the name of the language were moved by Chidambaram on the basis of resolutions passed by the Orissa Assembly.

Both bills were passed by the Lok Sabha in November 2010.

"The government of Orissa forwarded to the central government in December 2008 the resolution passed by the legislative assembly of Orissa on 28th August, 2008," the Home Minister said.

"As required by the provision to Article 3 of the Constitution, the President referred the bill to the legislature of the state of Orissa for expressing its views thereon," he said.

The state Assembly adopted a unanimous resolution agreeing with the bill, the home minister said.

IANS