Mayawati renews demand to divide Uttar Pradesh into four states

LUCKNOW: Telangana state has led to the clamour for dividing Uttar Pradesh into smaller units. Leading from the front is Rashtriya Lok Dal of Ajit Singh, which is part of the UPA government. RLD has reiterated its longstanding demand for creating Harit Pradesh out of western UP. Reiterating her position, BSP chief Mayawati called for dividing Uttar Pradesh into four states as per a resolution passed by her government in 2011. However, SP strongly opposed any move to divide Uttar Pradesh.

Jat leader Ajit Singh has long been at the forefront of creating Harit Pradesh comprising 22 districts of western UP. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation on Tuesday voiced the demand again and said the Centre should consider the demand for Harit Pradesh. His son and MP, Jayant Chowdhry, said that the people of west UP have long been demanding creation of Harit Pradesh and they now want the UPA government to move forward on the issue. He said that west UP had its distinct culture and also contributed a large portion of revenue to the UP government. “But still western UP is neglected by the government. It does not get its due in development work and remains neglected. Only the creation of Harit Pradesh will give the people of west UP its due”, he said. Chowdhry said that RLD will raise the issue of creating Harit Pradesh in the coming monsoon session of Parliament.

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati welcoming the creation of Telangana demanded that UP should be divided into four states. She said that her party had long advocated creation of smaller states. “My government had on November 23, 2011, passed a resolution in the state assembly for creating Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh out of UP. The resolution was forwarded to the UPA government at the Centre but no action was taken. We demand that the Centre take up the resolution for division of UP into four smaller states as the power to do so lies with the Centre only” Mayawati said.

Meanwhile, the ruling Samajwadi Party has ruled out the division of UP into smaller states. Senior minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said that the party was against division of UP and it would oppose it tooth and nail. “We have a strong majority in the UP assembly and will oppose any move to divide UP into smaller states” he said.