JOIN USMaya wants UP split into four states
Addressing a press conference here, Mayawati said the state Cabinet, at its meeting held on Tuesday, accorded approval to the division of UP into four states—Awadh Pradesh, Paschim Pradesh, Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand—”keeping in view the demand and aspirations of the people.”
She said her government would send the resolution to the Centre for taking a positive action after getting it adopted by the Assembly.
In an apparent bid to corner the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre, she said her government had written to the Centre many times in this regard but the Union government had not taken any step in this direction so far.
Mayawati said her party had always been in favour of smaller states as they could be governed in a better and efficient way and also ensure progress. According to the 2011 census, Uttar Pradesh has a population of over 19.95 crore with an area of over 2.40 lakh sq km.
About 16 per cent of the country’s population reside in the state. Mayawati lambasted the Congress, BJP and Samajwadi Party (SP) for opposing the division of UP and claimed that these parties did not want the people to progress. She also rejected the opposition charge that it was a “political stunt.”
Positive decision
Mayawati said that according to the Constitution, only the Centre could reorganise any state. She hoped that the Centre would keep in mind the aspirations of the people and take a positive decision.
The Bahujan Samaj Party supremo’s decision is being seen as an attempt to gain political mileage out of the emotive issue in the next year’s Assembly polls.
The Opposition, however, dubbed it a “political stunt” and an attempt to divert the attention of the people from her failures.
Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan said that it was tantamount to “cheating” the people of the state by a chief minister, who will be facing polls in a few months. The BJP, however, did not categorically oppose it but demanded formation of a State Reorganisation Commission.
The Congress also made the same demand.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal has been demanding a separate state of Harit Pradesh while Lok Manch chief and former SP leader Amar Singh has been demanding a Poorvanchal state since long.