The Congress-led UPA’s move to create a state of Telangana for electoral gain has set off a chain of agitations across India demanding separate statehood for a number of regions.
As violence was reported from northeastern areas over such demands, the Centre made it clear that there was no move to set up a new States Reorganisation Commission for creation of new states in different parts of the country. A senior official said the decision on creating a Telangana state, bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, was an “isolated move”.
On Wednesday, the demand for a separate Karbi Anglong state in Assam turned violent, with its supporters attacking the houses of Congress MPs and MLAs, forcing the police to open
fire. Three other outfits have also decided to intensify their movements to demand separate states of Bodoland, Kamatapur and Gorkhaland in eastern India. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha general secretary Roshan Giri announced an indefinite bandh in the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal starting Saturday to press for a separate Gorkhaland. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, however, ruled out any division of the state.
BSP supremo and former Uttar Pradesh CM Mayawati also jumped into the fray, reiterating her old demand for the four-way split of Uttar Pradesh — into Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Pashchimanchal. Union minister Jairam Ramesh has supported this on the grounds that Uttar Pradesh, with its “current structure”, is “ungovernable” from the administrative point of view. “Purely from an administrative
point of view, a state of over 200 million people, 72 districts, over 800 blocks... is just not governable. This is my personal view,” Mr Ramesh clarifed. Union minister Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal is pushing hard for the creation of a Harit Pradesh in western UP, his home turf.
Congress MP Jagdambika Pal, who hails from eastern UP, is pushing for Poorvanchal, saying he would approach Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.
Maharashtra Congress MP Vijay Darda has demanded a state of Vidarbha, saying the “region will not be liberated from the
debilitating grip of backwardness if it doesn’t get freedom”.
The Northeast, particularly Assam, continued to simmer as the government went ahead with the creation of Telangana. Assam is likely to be hit by a series of bandh calls on Thursday. The All-Bodo Students’ Union has announced a series of agitational programmes from Thursday in protest against the Centre’s alleged discrimination against Bodos and its failure to fulfil the genuine aspirations of indigenous people. All Koch Rajbongshi
Students’ Union (Biswajit Roy faction) has called a 36-hour Assam bandh starting 5 am on Thursday to press for a separate state of Kamtapur to be carved out of Assam and West Bengal.
Bodoland Territorial Council chief and Bodoland People’s Front president Hagrama Mohilary said his outfits will hold a mass rally in Kokrajhar on Sunday to put pressure on the government on Bodoland. It has called a 12-hour rail blockade on Friday followed by a 60-hour Assam bandh from 5 am on Monday and a 1,000-hour economic blockade if necessary, its president Promode Boro has said.