While Congress government at the Centre is fuming over demands for a separate Telangana state in Andhra Pradesh, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati shot another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding statehood for Bundelkhand and Western Uttar Pradesh.
Mayawati reasoned out that its getting impossible to govern a big state like Uttar Pradesh, therefore keeping in view the development of ignored areas, new states must be carved out of UP and the Cnetral Government must take immediate action on pending demands for statehood. The political plank played by Mayawati proved to be a befitting reply to the adventures of Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi. Rahul has been carving inroads for the Congress in the underdeveloped areas of Bundelkhand and building pressure against Mayawati led BSP Government in Uttar Pradesh.
The people of Bundelkhand area, though committed for a separate state, see the current development as a political ploy to have mileage over others and finally pacify the genuine demand to overcome underdevelopment. Chairman of Bundelkhand Mukti Morcha, Raja Bundela told Chauthi Duniya “We don’t want Bundelkhand in parts, our struggle is for greater Bundelkhand as promised by the post independence government at the centre.
The ground realities in the Bundela area are very harsh. After independence, the area was divided between Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh with UP getting seven districts and MP ruling over 21 districts. Since independence, the condition of the people in the area is miserable. Farmers are forced to commit suicide and almost sixty five percent of work force have sought migration to fight poverty. Whereas the Center is earning a revenue of about 700 crore and Madhya Pradesh is gaining 1400 crore only by the Panna district, which comes under Bundelkhand.
Hence it is clear that despite drain of wealth from the region, the area has failed to develop and the workforce of the region is merely victimized by the political class in the region as well as at the national level.
