Baliyan remark on separate state of west UP draws flak from oppn

The statement triggered a fresh round of debate in the region and most opposition leaders described it as a ‘ political gimmick’. They said the BJP was running out of issues and its vote bank in the Jat community was shrinking, especially after the 13-month farmers’ movement.

MEERUT Union minister Sanjeev Baliyan’s statement in support of making western UP a separate state with Meerut as its capital has drawn sharp criticism from rival parties. Most of them described it as a ‘ political gimmick’, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was running out of issues to build a supportive atmosphere in the region.

Baliyan had said on Sunday that he hoped that western UP would be a separate state one day and Meerut would be its capital (HT file)

Addressing a gathering of his clansmen in the International Jat Sansad on Sunday, Baliyan surprised the people by saying that he hoped that western UP would be a separate state one day and Meerut would be its capital. The Jat Sansad was held to raise the demand for Jat reservation in central government jobs.

The statement triggered a fresh round of debate in the region and most opposition leaders described it as a ‘ political gimmick’. They said the BJP was running out of issues and its vote bank in the Jat community was shrinking, especially after the 13-month farmers’ movement.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP from Amroha constituency Kunwar Danish Ali said that the idea was the brainchild of Chaudhary Ajit Singh and Mayawati , when she was CM, sent recommendation for making western UP a separate state. “They (BJP) have absolute majority governments at the centre and in UP. Then who was stopping them from doing so all these years?,” asked Ali, adding the BJP’s vote base was eroding among Jats and in the entire region and the union minister was trying to fool people by issuing such statements.

RLD chief late Chaudhary Ajit Singh had raised the demand for making western UP a separate state and named it ‘ Harit Pradesh’. He, his party members and leaders fought a decade-long battle for it but it was diluted after his death.

RLD’s national general secretary Trilok Tyagi reminded how Ajit Singh and entire RLD had been demanding that western UP be declared a separate state. He, however, described minister Baliyan’s statement as a ‘ drama’. He said Baliyan was afraid of the growing popularity of RLD and Jayant Choudhary and so he was issuing such statements. “His party is in absolute majority at the centre and in the state and who is stopping them from carving out western UP as a separate state?” he asked.

A few leaders of opponent parties also saw it as a well-planned move of the minister to derail the growing demand of Jat reservation in central government jobs. “He gave this statement in the International Jat Sansad where the agenda was Jat reservation. This creates doubts about his intention,”, they said.