New Delhi, December 15: The government has no intention of either imposing President’s Rule in Andhra Pradesh or setting up a second States Reorganisation Commission (SRC). The decision follows a sudden spurt in demands for new states and is aimed at putting an end to this trend.
Senior government functionaries made it clear their priority was to stabilise the situation in Andhra. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee assured MPs from the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions that the government would not move forward on the Telangana issue till there was a consensus on the issue in the state assembly.
Government functionaries continued to engage with MPs from the Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana regions, urging them to prevail on their supporters to allow the situation to stabilise. Pro-Telangana MPs have written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, thanking her for the government’s decision to initiate the process for creation of a new state.
Significantly, the BJP supports the government decision not to set up a second SRC. The BJP fears it would open a floodgate of demands for smaller states. “It will end up creating more problems,” a top BJP leader said.
The BJP has in principle supported the demand for smaller states. In fact, it was under the NDA regime that Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand states were created. The BJP was even keen on granting statehood to Telangana and Vidharba but could not do so because of opposition from the TDP and Shiv Sena.
But now, the BJP has urged the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) to call off its agitation and relay fast for a separate state. The party also does not appear very keen about Mayawati’s proposal to trifurcate Uttar Pradesh (UP).
Deputy leader of the BJP in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj said, “The party has only taken a stand on Telangana, we have not discussed other states.” Lack of enthusiasm in the BJP can be explained from the fact that in none of the new states proposed by Mayawati would the BJP get any political advantage. In fact, Harit Pradesh would have a 40% Muslim population. Ditto with Poorvanchal. So, the party is suddenly trying to put a lid on the cry for smaller states.
–Agencies–