Separatist cries get shriller in UP & Bengal

NEW DELHI: As feared, Telangana has inflamed the statehood clamour in other parts of the country.

Chants for Bundelkhand, Harit Pradesh and Gorkhaland grew louder with UP Chief Minister Mayawati writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday seeking the trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh for “better administration” and expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh calling on Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi to press the 102-year-old demand for Gorkhaland.

Sharing the contents of the letter she has written to Mr Singh, Ms Mayawati told reporters in Lucknow that UP being a very big state both in size and population, it would be better “administratively” as well as per people’s wishes to carve the two new states of Bundelkhand and western UP out of the present geographical area of UP.

Stating that the subject of creating smaller states lies in the domain of the Central government, she called on New Delhi to initiate the process for formation of Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh.

“If the Central government agrees to trifurcation of UP, we will get the necessary resolution passed in the Assembly. But it is for the Centre to first agree and initiate the process,” she said.

Meanwhile, Darjeeling MP Jaswant Singh, backed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) lost no time in meeting Mr Chidambaram to put forth his demand for the separate state for Gorkhaland, the tripartite negotiations for which are already underway.

Reminding the home minister that the demand for bifurcation of West Bengal to create Gorkhaland dated back 102 years, Mr Singh said that “if legitimate and valid demands are met in time, then there is no need for protests or violent protests for that matter.”

The GJM, incidentally, is now following in the footsteps of TRS leader K Chandrasekhara Rao and has announced an indefinite hunger strike to press for creation of Gorkhaland. While CPM is ideologically against formation of
smaller states, CPI supports Telangana, but not Gorkhaland.

The government had in 2005 conferred Sixth Schedule status on the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF)-led Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), ensuring greater functional autonomy to the governing body.

Meanwhile, not to be left behind, RLD leader Ajit Singh on Friday threatened that his party would launch an agitation if the government did not consider the demand for Harit Pradesh to be carved out of western parts of Uttar Pradesh. He said the government should not respond to demands only when people resorted to violence.

On his part, Raja Bundela, who heads the Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha, too came forward to demand creation of Bundelkhand by merging seven districts of UP and six districts of adjoining UP.

There are as many as 12 demands for statehood currently pending with the Union home ministry.