Panel may solve Udham Singh Nagar imbroglio

A proposal to this affect has already been tabled by former UP CM N D Tiwari. Badal who is a member of the panel suggested that it would submit its report before the Bill comes up for discussion in Parliament on Tuesday but Fernandes remained non-committal.

Today’s visit by the three-member panel, which had already started of on the wrong note after the cancellation of a series of meet-the-people programme, was further hampered by the absence of UP Chief Minister Ram Prakash Gupta in the panel.

He was represented by irrigation minister and UP BJP chief Om Prakash Singh who made it clear that the panel could only advise the Central government and its recommendations were not binding in any way. He also made it clear that there was no question of not including Udham Singh Nagar in Uttaranchal.

Today’s programme at the Pantnagar Agricultural University, which was supposed to be an interaction with the representative’s of the people, saw a huge crowd marshalled by the anti-inclusion camp outside the packed auditorium. Amidst slogans filtering in from outside, speaker after speaker placed their views before the panel.

Comprising a carefully assembled cross-section of the district–Sikhs, Punjabis, Bengalis, Muslims and tribals, the speakers emphasised their cultural, geographical and economic differences from the hill districts. But an undercurrent of acceptance regarding the inevitability of the inclusion led many speakers to come up with suggestions similar to Tiwari’s.

At another auditorium, those insisting on the inclusion had assembled. The speakers, including 3 MLAs and a former MP expressed the view that Udham Singh Nagar had always been a part of the hill area. They pointed out that till Mayawati approved the formation of this district in 1994, by separating it from the Nainital district, the area had benefitted enormously from the subsidies aimed at the hill region.

Specifically alleging that the panel’s visit was aimed at bailing out Badal from political difficulties on this score in Punjab, BJP MLA from Haldwani, Tilak Raj Behar, said Sikhs in other districts which would be part of Uttaranchal such as Haldwani, Haridwar and Nainital had no objections to the proposed state.

Fernandes, talking to the media, admitted that the visit was long delayed but added that the outcome was positive and “it was still not too late”. The panel constituted by the Prime Minister almost a year-and-a-half back had only held a couple of meetings so far over the issue.