Unsure Maya takes a step back as trifurcation debate hots up

After triggering a debate on dividing Uttar Pradesh into smaller states, Chief Minister Mayawati seems to have developed cold feet on the matter.

After triggering a debate on dividing Uttar Pradesh into smaller states, Chief Minister Mayawati seems to have developed cold feet on the matter.

Mayawati’s statement, at a rally on October 9, that she was not averse to the idea of smaller states had generated sharp reactions from all Opposition parties, barring the Rahstriya Lok Dal (RLD).

Following this, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) decided not to initiate any moves on the issue. Instead, the party supremo put the onus on the Union Government for the trifurcation of the state. A statement by the state Government on the floor of the House last Wednesday made it clear that Mayawati has no intention of taking up the matter.

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The BSP leader has even asked the zonal coordinators, legislators and Members of Parliament not to bring it up during meetings and functions in their respective regions. The ministers too are tight-lipped on the issue. It was only Agriculture Minister Laxmi Narayan from Mathura, which is part of the proposed Harit Pradesh, who dared to oppose the matter when it came up in the House on the opening day of the Winter Session.

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs in UP Lalji Verma made it clear in the Assembly that the state Government has no intention to bring in any resolution for the division of the state. He said it would be up to the Centre to take any initiative in this regard, and only then, the UP Government will think over it.

Mayawati, on October 9, had said that if there was a demand she would not hesitate to divide UP. The Opposition parties were first hesitant in reacting on the issue. Later, the RLD openly demanded division.

The Samajwadi Party strongly opposed any further division, while the Congress played safe by demanding a state reorganisation commission. BJP leader Lalji Tandon reacted sharply on the proposal of division and termed the demand of Harit Pradesh as impractical.

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Meanwhile, the organisations and smaller parties demanding a division have intensified their stir. The Bundelkhand Rajya Banao Sangharsh Samiti staged a march towards the Assembly recently, while RLD workers staged a dharna for Harit Pradesh. Leaders involved in the movement for a separate Poorvanchal state met in Varanasi last week and decided to mount pressure on the Government for a resolution in this regard in the Assembly. Tribals of Vindhya region staged a march towards Lucknow and a demonstration outside the Assembly demanding creation of a separate state in the name of ‘Sonanchal’ with Sonbhadra as its capital.

Inside the Assembly, RLD legislators staged a dharna saying the BSP Government was diluting the issue by putting the onus on Delhi. The Assembly Speaker’s office was flooded with requests of adjournment from legislators before the commencement of the Winter Session on October 31.