Division of UP: fresh issue on the political block

Lucknow, Oct 28 (UNI) The issue of division of Uttar Pradesh, which has already gained momentum in the political circles of the state, is likely to figure prominently in the coming session of the State Legislature, commencing on October 30.

The issue was triggered by Chief Minister Mayawati, when during her party rally in the state capital recently, she favoured the trifurcation of UP for speedy progress of development-starved regions like Purvanchal(eastern part of the state) and Bundelkhand.

Her statement caught the fancy of political parties in the state who came out with sharp reactions, with almost every party opposing the move in the way the UP Chief Minister proposed it to take place.

The issue is likely to storm the proceedings during the UP Assembly session, political observers feel.

While the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) has outrightly rejected the proposal, other parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress have come out with guarded reactions on the issue.

SP General Secretary Ashok Bajpayee in his party's reaction, told UNI that the division of UP was in the best interest of the state. ''A state like UP holds an important place and for the sake of vote politics, such a move could not be encouraged,'' he said.

Admitting that Eastern UP and Bundelkhand remained the backward regions of the state, but the answer to their woes was planned development, not division.

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