JOIN USDemands for more new states pour in
Telangana move has come as a boost to those demanding trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh into ‘Poorvanchal’ (eastern), ‘Harit Pradesh’ (western) and Bundelkhand regions.
President of the ‘Poorvanchal Gathan Morch’, an outift demanding separate state of Poorvanchal carving 27 districts of eastern UP, Raj Kumar Ojha said that he had convnened an emergency meeting of the office bearers and leaders to chalk out its strategy for launching fresh agitation for Poorvanchal.
“It appears that the central government will concede our demand only if we resort to violence...it will not yield to peaceful agitations’’, Ojha told Deccan Herald.
He said that the entire eastern region of UP had been neglected by successive regimes and as a result it lagged behind in development in comparison to other parts of the state.
Harit Pradesh
Voicing similar sentiment for a separate Harit Pradesh carving districts of the western region of the state, the Rashtriya Lok Dal leaders said that the Centre must also now give a go ahead for the Harit Pradesh.
The leaders said that they would soon announce a long drawn agitational programme to force the UPA and the Mayawati government on this issue.
Bundelkhand
Meanwhile the Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha (BMM), seeking seperate statehood status to Bundelkhand, has decided to launch an agitation to press for their demand of seperate state comprising of 15 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
BMM wouild also hold a massive ‘Kisan maha-panchayat’ at Orcha on the UP-MP border on January 16 and 17 next. BMM leaders said that the organisation would take out ‘padyatra’ from Kamtanath Temple in Karvi (Chitrakoot) in UP to Khujarao temple in MP from December 16 to January 1 covering 300 km.
“After holding a massive Kisan mahapanchayat in Orcha on January 16 and 17, a delegation of the Morcha will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Lal Krishna Advani in the last week of next month for their intervention for early creation of the seperate Bundelkhand state”, the leaders said.
Though no state government has given any recommendation, which is mandatory for carving out a new state, the demands continue to pour in.
Bhojpur
A demand for creation of Bhojpur state comprising areas of Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has also been received by the Ministry.
Another demand for creation of a new state comprising Saurastha region of Gujarat, one of the most prosperous states in the country, has also been pending with the Ministry for several years now.
Mithilanchal
The Home Ministry has also received demands for creation of Mithilanchal or Mithila state comprising districts of Northern Bihar, a new Greater Cooch Behar state out of parts of West Bengal and Assam, a Vidarbha state in Maharashtra and a state for the Coorg region of Karnataka.
However, no decision has been taken by the Home Ministry in any of these representation for creation of new states.
“Government takes decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors. Action by the government would depend on the need and general consideration,” the official added.