The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday welcomed the decision to create Telangana state and also reiterated the demand for a four-way division of Uttar Pradesh.
BSP president Mayawati told reporters on Wednesday that she wanted UP to be divided into Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh.
Ms Mayawati said that Central ministers from Uttar Pradesh should mount pressure on the Centre for division of the state.
She also supported the demand for separate statehood for Gorkhaland in Bengal and Vidarbha in Maharashtra.
“The BSP has always been in favour of small states and when we were in power, we had sent a proposal passed by the state Assembly to the Centre on November 23, 2011. Smaller states ensure better governance and administration,” she said.
Ms Mayawati said that it was unfortunate that the Centre had left the proposal for division of UP pending while Telangana was turning into reality.
“The BSP demands that on the principle of one language-one state, the Centre, besides reorganising larger states, should also complete the process of division of Uttar Pradesh into four states, apart from Gorkhakland and Vidarbha,” she said.
Ms Mayawati said when her party was in power, she had created new divisions, zones, districts and tehsils so that better administration could be provided to the people of Uttar Pradesh, which is the most populous state in the country.
“We have always supported smaller states,” she added and said that when the population of UP is divided between four states; development will be faster and more effective.