Posted on 15 November 2011
UP Cabinet approves Mayawati's 'divide UP' proposal
Opposition says proposal a pre-poll gimmick by the CM to divert
attention from bad governance, rampant corruption and jungle law
Virendra Nath Bhatt
Lucknow
Ahead of Assembly polls in early 2012, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Mayawati got her proposal of dividing the state into four small
parts-- Poorvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Paschim
Pradesh--approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday. She said that a
resolution to this effect would be tabled during the winter session of
Assembly, scheduled to start from 21 November. On 3 November, Tehelka
carried the story "Eyeing polls, Mayawati proposes division of UP
again".
"Since under Article 3 of the Constitution, only Parliament is
empowered to redraw the boundaries of a state, reorganisation or
renaming a sate, we hope the Centre would soon take the initiative for
reorganisation of UP. Assembly will pass the resolution and it will be
sent to the Centre so that early action is taken on the division of
UP," Mayawati said at a press conference here adding, "We hope for an
early and positive action by the Centre on the resolution."
Supporting her theory of smaller states, the CM said, "BSP favours
creation of small states for addressing the problem of regional
imbalance, accelerating the pace of development and ensuring better
future for the people. The myopic policies of the previous Congress
and the BJP-led governments at the Centre ignored the problem of UP
resulting in its backwardness. UP is lagging in all spheres of
development, including physical and social infrastructure."
In an obvious criticism of the Congress and the BJP, Mayawati said,
"Since independence, maximum number of Prime Ministers have belonged
to UP but they never took concrete measures for the state's
development resulting in people asking for division of UP into small
states."
Giving an ideological shade to her demand for division of UP, Mayawati
said, "Division of large states into small states was the cherished
dream of Bhim Rao Ambedkar and the BSP has always favoured
reorganisation of UP and its division into four small states for
accelerating the pace of development of the vast areas in the present
state. During the previous three BSP-led regimes, many new districts
were created for better administration and convenience of the people."
The Dalit icon said that UP was becoming unmanageable. "Be it on the
basis of area or population, it is increasingly becoming difficult to
manage. According to the 2011 census, UP's population is around 20
crore and its area is more than 2.40 lakh sq km making it one of the
largest states. As much as 16 per cent of the country's population
reside in UP," she added.
Opposition parties dismissed Mayawati's proposal as a pre-poll gimmick
by a "beleaguered Chief Minister desperately trying to divert the
electorate's attention from bad governance, rampant corruption and
jungle law during her regime since May 2007".
UP Congress President Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, "It's a poll gimmick.
Mayawati's only aim is to mislead the people by making such
announcements. Congress is not against creation of small states for
administrative convenience and helping the common man, but the issue
here is not division of UP but attempt of Mayawati to draw political
mileage ahead of Assembly polls."
Samajwadi Party state President Akhilesh Yadav said, "With the
adoption of the proposal for division of UP, Mayawati should resign as
she herself has admitted that UP is too big to govern. We will oppose
the resolution."
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which had been at the forefront for over
a decade demanding division of the state, said that Mayawati had
hijacked the issue of the party. "Mayawati had opposed the resolution
for carving out Harit Pradesh (districts of western UP), introduced by
our party, when she was heading the BSP-BJP coalition government,
which also included the RLD, in 2002-03," said Kokab Hameed, leader of
the RLD in UP Assembly, adding, "If Mayawati was sincere on the issue
of reorganisation of UP, then she should have supported the
resolution. She has brought up the issue just few months ahead of
Assembly polls."
The BJP, which has always supported formation of small states, was
guarded in its reaction. "Decision should be taken after due diligence
and nothing should be done in haste. A study should be undertaken to
cover all the concerned issues. Then this matter should be examined by
a commission appointed by the Centre," said Kalraj Mishra, National
Vice-President of the BJP.
Meanwhile, reiterating her demand for a special economic package for
UP's development from the Central government, Mayawati said, "Due to
continuous neglect of the state by the Centre, the UP government was
forced to ask for special economic assistance from the Centre for
addressing the problems of backwardness and regional imbalance. My
government in May 2007 had asked for sanctioning Rs 80,000 crore from
the Centre. I met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also wrote several
letters to him requesting early action, but the Centre ignored us."
'Mayawati has thrown down the gauntlet to Congress'
Samarth Saran
New Delhi
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's announcement of tabling a
resolution for division of the state into four parts in winter session
of Assembly could put the Congress in a fix in view of the upcoming
Assembly elections in early 2012, according to political observers.
"By proposing division of the state, Mayawati has put pressure on the
Congress party, which has to tackle this move plus the Telangana
issue," said professor Sudha Pai, of JNU.
Observers are of the opinion that managing Uttar Pradesh itself has
been a cumbersome problem for any political party. Besides, emerging
as a single largest party has always been a tough task for any
political party. "The way things are shaping right now, it seems it
would be difficult for any party to emerge as a clear winner. By
proposing to split the state into four, Mayawati hopes to form a
government in two states--Poorvanchal (East Uttar Pradesh) and
Bundelkhand," Pai added.
In fact, in a bid to woo voters in West Uttar Pradesh, the CM had
recently created three new districts from the region. This move will
also make the Congress think of its prospects in different regions of
the state, according to Pai. However, she said that dividing a state
into smaller parts should also be economically viable.
Mayawati's proposal was dismissed by opposition parties as a political
stunt. "This is a desperate attempt by an outgoing party to stay in
power," said Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee President Rita Bahuguna
Joshi. She added that the party was not against the division of the
state, but consensus of the people was a must in this complex process.
Joshi claimed that resolutions introduced in the State Assembly for
creating states out of UP were still pending. Congress leader Pradeep
Jain and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh had already tabled
resolutions for creation of Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh
respectively, but the BSP never supported them, she added. Jayant
Chaudary, RLD member of Parliament from Mathura, said that his party
would always support division of state. "Mayawati has woken up on the
cusp of BSP's defeat," he added.
Samarth Saran is a Correspondent with Tehelka.com.
samarth@tehelka.com
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