UP too huge to handle: Mayawati

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday declared her outright preference for further partition of UP and creation of independent states of Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh.

"I have written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging him to give clearance for carving out independent states of Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh out of a giant sized and unmanageable Uttar Pradesh," Mayawati told a press conference in Lucknow on Friday evening.

"Since the centre has already given its nod for carving out the state of Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh, there was good enough reason to follow the same exercise in case of UP, where the demand for an independent Bundelkhand in southern UP and a Harit Pradesh in western UP was being raised for a long time," she said.

While political observers felt that the move was aimed at creating greater discomfort for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre already grappling with the gradually increasing demand for statehood from different corners of the country, Mayawati sought to justify her demand by impressing that she had had these views for long.

"I was always in favour of smaller states as they are much simpler to govern," she said. "These views have been expressed by me on several occasions in the past as well.

"In the past too, on March 15, 2008, I had sent a letter to the prime minister, urging him to consider the demand of the people of Bundelkhand and of western UP for giving them independent statehood."

She said, "Still earlier on October 8, 2007, I had expressed these view at a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) rally in Lucknow."

According to her: "My party legislators too had formally raised this demand on the floor of the state assembly on October 31, 2007... therefore, it was now time for the centre to act."

Asked if she would move a resolution in this regard in the state assembly, Mayawati shot back: "Well, I would do so once the centre has given its approval in principle."

Meanwhile, in an appeal to the people of these two regions, she has urged them "not to indulge in any activity that is likely to disturb law and order in the state." She, however, assured to "extend full support to the popular demand of the people".

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Industry not bothered who gets Hyderabad

Will the city of Hyderabad become the capital of the proposed state of Telangana or get the status of union territory? The business

community and industry are not bothered.

But business and industry leaders are concerned over the shutdowns and violence in Hyderabad and other parts of the Telangana region as well as the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions. The industry in general is indifferent to what happens to Hyderabad in the event of a division of the state, saying their only concern is peace, political stability and good infrastructure. Hyderabad, a hub of IT, biotechnology and pharma, is at the centre of a tussle between Telangana and Andhra regions. The Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and others have already made it clear that Telangana state without Hyderabad is unacceptable as the city had been the capital of the region for 400 long years. Those opposing a division of the state want union territory status for Hyderabad in the event of formation of Telangana. The reasons are obvious. Industrialists from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions have made huge investments in Hyderabad ever since Telangana was merged with then Andhra State (which had Kurnool as the capital) in 1956 to form Andhra Pradesh. "There is a concern over the developments of the last few days. There is apprehension of violence affecting business and industry," Harish Chandra Prasad, chairman of the Confederation of Industry (CII), Andhra Pradesh, told IANS. He said this fear was not only among businessmen and industrialists from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions but also among those from other states and even among multinational companies. "We would not like to comment on politics but we want the issue to be settled at the earliest. If it is settled quickly, then the impact on business and investment will be negligible. But if it prolongs for one or two years, it will have an adverse impact," said Prasad. Hyderabad, which witnessed unprecedented growth over the last decade, is home to over 1,000 IT firms including national and multinational giants like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Mahindra Satyam, Microsoft and Google. Geographically located in the heart of the Telanagna region, this four-century-old city was the capital of the princely state of Hyderabad ruled by the Asaf Jahis (Nizams). A fine blend of tradition and modernity, the landscape of this city of minarets transformed in recent years with gleaming business houses, hotels and shopping malls. Hyderabad has a population of about eight million, nearly 35 percent of them Muslims. There are others who feel that it does not matter whether Hyderabad is included in Telangana state or Andhra state or given the status of a union territory. "As far as industry is concerned, it really doesn't matter as long as there are no law and order problems. The industry only wants peaceful atmosphere, a stable government, manpower and good infrastructure," said J.A. Chowdary, president of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and a former president of Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA). "As long as our primary conditions are met, it makes no difference who is in power or which state we are in. There should be no shutdowns and disturbances. During the last 10 days the industry lost productivity," he said. Chowdary was also of the opinion that industrialists and businessmen from other regions had nothing to worry about even if a separate state was carved out and Hyderabad becomes its capital. "Several small states were carved out of bigger states in recent years but there were no incidents of local people driving out non-locals. Every state wants investment. The chief minister of Telangana will not want to see Hyderabad as a ghost city. Everyone wants more job opportunities," he said. "An investor goes to a state or city where he or she gets good appreciation for investment. He wants good returns wherever he goes," said Chowdary, who is also the chairman of NVIDIA Graphics India.

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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.

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Now, GJM to start indefinite fast for Gorkhaland state

The Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) announced an indefinite hunger strike for a separate Gorkhaland state Thursday, a day after the central government conceded the demand for Telangana to be carved out of Andhra Pradesh.

The hunger strike for a Gorkhaland state to be carved out of some northern parts of West Bengal would be held in Darjeeling district's three hill subdivisions and the plains of Siliguri.

"Twenty-one youth activists will be on indefinite hunger strike in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong and Siliguri till we get Gorkhaland," GJM general secretary Roshan Giri said.

Giri also announced a four-day shutdown in the area Dec 14-17.

Besides, the GJM activists will take out massive rallies in the hills from Thursday, he said. Home minister P. Chidambaram Wednesday night gave the green signal for a separate Telangana state, following widespread protests in Andhra Pradesh and the deteriorating health condition of Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao who had been on a fast-unto-death for 11 days.

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Telangana could not fructify if consensus is broken

With diverse pulls and pressures coming to the fore, Congress on Thursday hinted that a separate Telangana could be a case of 'so-near-yet-so-far' if consenus is broken by any party at the central or state level.

The party also indicated that the decision on Telangana would not necessarily pave the way for creation of other smaller states like Vidarbha, Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal, Harit Pradesh and Gorkhaland.

"A state of Telangana cannot come about without two levels of consensus. One at the central level for Constitution amendment and another at state level for passing of a resolution...(in the assembly). They cannot come unless there is a consensus from all parties," Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi told reporters.

He said the Centre's decision to accept Telangana statehood had "no similarity, no equivalence, not identical in any way to decision regarding other states and regions of India".

Singhvi said the decision on Telangana was "conceptually, factually and in context unrelated to any other (demand) and we reject (any claim) that it comes near any other ....remotely or indirectly".

Singhvi's remarks came as Andhra Pradesh plunged into a fresh political crisis today with 60 MLAs and a MP belonging to Congress, TDP and PRP from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions resigning in protest against the Centre's decision to carve out a Telangana state.

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KCR claims victory, TRS calls off Hyderabad rally CNN-IBN

Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) called off Thursday's victory celebrations in Hyderabad with the party instead deciding to hold a commemorative meeting inside the Osmania University campus, which was one of the main venues in the fight for Telangana.

TRS President K Chandrashekhar Rao expressed his happiness and claimed victory for forcing the Centre of agreeing to create Telangana.

"I thank Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister Government of India, Opposition Leader LK Advani and other leaders who supported the cause of Telangana. It has been pursued by many martyrs. I thank all who participated for achievement of the cause," said KCR after breaking his 11-day long fast at the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) on Wednesday night.

The authorities also lifted prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) under which the assembly of five or more people at a place is illegal from all districts of Telangana except Hyderabad.

There is heavy police presence in Hyderabad to prevent a law and order breakdown even as tension across the region has subsided following Centre's nod to a separate Telanagana state.

• How KCR rose from the ashes, got Telangana
  
• KCR thanks Sonia, PM; celebrations on
  
• Telangana demand shows people neglected: PC
  

Meanwhile, KCR’s condition will take some more time to get back to normal.

Doctors attending the TRS leader at NIMS in Hyderabad say protein levels in his blood are too low.

"KCR's Health condition will take some time to normalise. It may even take a month. He has lost eight kgs in 11 days. We have started giving him liquid food as of now. His condition had become critical but we are now trying to get it back to normal. His vital parameters are stable. It is too soon to say when he will be discharged," said KCR's personal physician Dr MV Rao.

Andhra Pradesh Assembly is likely to move the resolution for a separate state on Thursday. But the status of Hyderabad is still not clear with the state Congress saying that the question of making the city a union territory does not arise.

After the state Assembly passes a resolution the Centre will have to place ac bill in Parliament to create Telangana. The Constitutional Amendment Bill for creating Telangana has to be passed in Parliament by a two-thirds majority. The new state of Telangana will then be created after President's approval.

The demand for a separate Telangana state goes back several decades. Telangana is a region comprising 10 of Andhra Pradesh's 23 districts.

Originally, the region was a part of the erstwhile Nizam's princely state of Hyderabad. In 1948, India put an end to the rule of the Nizams and Hyderabad state was formed.

In 1956, the Telangana part of Hyderabad was merged with Andhra Pradesh that had been carved out of Madras Presidency in 1953 after Potti Sreeramulu's agitation for Telugu statehood

The people from Telangana were against merger with Andhra as they feared job losses because education levels and development in Andhra were better than in their region.

There were cultural differences too as under Nizam's rule, the culture and language in Telangana bore influences of North India.

In 1969, the Telangana movement intensified under the leadership of Marri Chenna Reddy and the Telangana Praja Samithi.

There was widespread violence and over 350 protesters were killed in police firing and lathicharge.

However the movement could not last long as Chenna Reddy went on to merge his party with Congress and was eventually made chief minister of Andhra Pradesh by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

In 2001, the movement revived once again when K Chandrasekhar Rao quit the Telugu Desam Party and formed the TRS.

In 2004, the Congress joined hands with Rao, promising separate Telangana but later backtracked.

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