The debate about whether Uttar Pradesh should be split further has taken a new turn with Chief Minister Mayawati’s recent comment endorsing the idea of smaller states. “My party has always favoured small states,” the BSP chief had told party workers at a meeting on October 9. To the shock of her opponents, the CM said: “If the Centre brings up a proposal for further trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh, the BSP-led UP Government will convene a special session of the Assembly and get it passed.”Shaken out of their slumber, the Samajwadi Party and the BJP are now in damage control mode. “Our party will soon hold a meeting to find a consensus on the issue,” said BJP state chief Ramapati Ram Tripathi. Though reluctant, the SP, too, plans to hold meetings to discuss the issue. “We have always been against small states because it dents the integrity of the nation, like it marred the solidarity of Uttar Pradesh after the creation of Uttaranchal,” said former minister Shivpal Singh.However, Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh, who had been contesting elections on the Harit Pradesh plank for decades, has questioned the integrity of Mayawati’s statement. “We had brought a proposal in the Assembly when the BSP and BJP were in power, but it was turned down. If she is serious, her Government should bring a proposal in this connection in the Assembly.” Interestingly, the Congress preferred playing safe. Party spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said the party would take a stand only when the States Reorganisation Commission makes a move. “.the party will react only when there is a concrete move by the Commission,” Singh clarified.
