Breaking her silence on the controversy surrounding the Biswa Bangla brand and its logo, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the brand and the logo were both her creation, and she had allowed the State government to use them.
“If the government does not use it, the brand and logo will come back to me,” Ms. Banerjee said in the Assembly. Her remarks come at a time when her nephew and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee is embroiled in a legal battle with Mukul Roy, former party heavyweight, who was recently inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party. Mr. Roy alleged that the brand was owned by Mr. Abhiskek Banerjee and the Trinamool MP filed a criminal defamation case against the BJP leader.
‘Unnecessary row’
Participating in the debate on a bill facilitating creation of a private university in the name of Sister Nivedita, the Chief Minister said the brand and the logo were like dreams, and dreams could not be sold to anyone. Without naming anybody, she said some people were trying to create an unnecessary controversy.
Elaborating on the Chief Minister’s comments, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Partha Chaterjee said the brand and logo were created by the Chief Minister on September 16, 2013, and the government had started using them from March 23, 2014. Mr. Chaterjee said the Chief Minister had not taken any money for allowing the government to use the logo.
Leaders of the Left Front and the Congress said the remarks by Ms. Banerjee clearly pointed out that the brand and logo were the property of her family.
