Clamour for new states

Gorkhaland supporters called for a bandh in Darjeeling for their own state while RLD leader Ajit Singh threatened to resume the agitation for a separate Harit Pradesh as the planned statehood for Telangana sparked fresh demands on Thursday for the creation of new states.


The Centre is expected to be tested, with demands for at least seven new states besides Gorkhaland and Harit Pradesh. 

Telangana will be the 29th state in the Indian Union as and when it is created. Since Telangana has been approved by the Centre on the lines of the Gorkhaland statehood demand "our demand for a separate state carved out from West Bengal should also be conceded",

GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said."Ours is a 102-year-old demand," said Giri.

There have been muted calls for Mithilanchal in Bihar, Coorg in Karnataka and Saurashtra in Gujarat.Demands for Bhojpur state comprising areas of eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and a new Greater Cooch Behar state out of parts of West Bengal and Assam have also been received by the Ministry.


Hagrama Mohillary, chief of the erstwhile Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), said on Thursday that his party, Bodoland People’s Front (BPF), would now launch a vigorous campaign demanding statehood for the Bodos.Home Ministry officials said the demands were mostly from political parties and organisations like Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) and some individuals.Though no state government has given any recommendation which is mandatory for carving out a new state the demands continue to pour in.