Sarvajan Hitay Sarvajan Sukhay-For The Gain of The Many and For The Welfare of The Many
Online edition of India’s National Newspaper
Friday, Oct 26, 2007
Ajit backs Mayawatiβs proposal for division of U.P.
Special Correspondent
| βChief Minister should send a resolution to the Centreβ |
LUCKNOW: With talk of trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh back on the political agenda, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Ajit Singh on Thursday said Chief Minister Mayawati should send a resolution passed by the State Assembly to the Centre and not wait for the Union Governmentβs nod on the issue.
Mr. Singh, who has been advocating the cause of UP being divided into smaller states, including βHarit Pradeshβ, said that his party would table a proposal in the forthcoming session of the UP Assembly for creation of Harit Pradesh.
Talking to newsmen here, the RLD president backed the Chief Ministerβs proposal but said that if Ms. Mayawati seriously considered a division of the State then she should send a resolution to the Centre.
At the Bahujan Samaj Party rally here on October 9, Ms. Mayawati had said that if the Union Government gave the nod then she would send a resolution passed by the Vidhan Sabha for creation of separate states of Purvanchal in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh in western Uttar Pradesh. The Chief Minister cited administrative inconvenience in governing a large state like UP where different regions had different sets of problems.
Following the Chief Ministerβs declaration, the Congress and the BJP, which were not favourably inclined to reorganisation of UP, are likely to review the issue. The Congress MLA from Jhansi (in Bundelkhand), Pradeep Jain Aditya, has indicated that he will move a non-Government notice on the issue in the upcoming Assembly session from October 30. The RLD president has been lobbying for the cause of Harit Pradesh for quite some time. Earlier, his statements on the issue had not been taken seriously and had even been rejected by his ally and former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh. Only the Samajwadi Party is opposed to a division of the State.
With the Chief Minister having raised the issue, sources said the Government is likely to move a resolution in the short Assembly session. Having an estimated population of around 19 crore spread across the four regions of western UP, central UP, Bundelkhand and eastern UP (Purvanchal) the State is synonymous with regional disparities.