Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati flayed the Centre for allegedly resorting to dilly-delaying tactics over the issue of the proposed division of the state here on Tuesday.
On November 21, the state Assembly had ratified the proposal to divide UP in four parts, and later sent it to the Centre for further action.
However, the Centre has reportedly sent the proposal back to the state with certain posers, including how does the state propose to divide public debt among the new states, division of the state bureaucracy, new political boundaries, etc. The public debt of the state government is touted to breach Rs 2,00,000 crore during the current financial year. Addressing a news conference here this afternoon, Mayawati maintained that in spite of proceeding according to the constitutional norms on the proposal, the Centre had attempted to keep the issue hanging fire by sending such a letter.
Besides, she claimed the Centre had ‘repeated’ its practice of leaking the letter to media before it could have received the letter officially by the state government. She said the power of dividing any state was vested with the Centre and the state had not much role in it. Mayawati, however, said Uttar Pradesh would provide any information sought by the Centre over the proposal of division.
The UP Assembly resolution had passed the proposal to divide Uttar Pradesh into Purvanchal (eastern UP), Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh (central UP) and Paschim Pradesh (western UP), even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Samajwadi Party had given adjournment notices to the Assembly speaker. The Opposition parties had alleged the proposal was passed by voice-vote without any debate and it was done by the Mayawati government to reap political benefits before the Assembly poll due early next year.