UP government will take care of Bundelkhand: Akhilesh Yadav

LUCKNOW: With the Opposition parties getting active in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh in run up to the 2017 Assembly polls, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said his government would make necessary efforts to address the issues the area confronts.

After a Cabinet meeting today, Yadav said Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan recently visited the region to take stock of the developmental scheme and he himself would visit Bundelkhand.

"We have taken a decision on the works to be carried out under MNREGA... In coming times, I'll also visit Bundelkhand. My government will help the region in every possible way," he said.

The statement comes at a time when Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to visit Bundelkhand on January 22.

"As far as Bundelkhand is concerned, you must remember that the SP and its government were the first to take care of the region," he claimed.

Bundelkhand comprises parts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Bahujan Samaj Party government, under Mayawati, had in 2011, proposed creation of separate Bundelkhand state comprising seven districts of UP -- Banda, Hamirpur, Lalitpur, Jhansi, Mahoba, Chitrakoot and Jalaun -- and some districts of Madhya Pradesh.

BJP had performed well in these districts in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and ruling Samajwadi Party is focusing on the area to grab as many Assembly seats as possible.