The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), a party with its base in Western U.P. on Sunday took a stand on the issue of separate ‘statehood’ for the region by demanding a High Court bench in Meerut. The party said BJP leader and Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan’s statement on statehood was caused by frustration and anxiety as the ruling party is losing ground in the politically crucial region.
“Who stopped the BJP and its leader who is demanding a legislation for a separate state in the parliament. We (RLD) demand a High Court bench in Meerut as Prayagraj is more than 700 km away,” said Trilok Tyagi, RLD national general secretary.
The RLD leader added the party didn’t want to react to the ‘statehood’ demand by Mr. Balyan. “Such statements are a result of frustration and anxiety as the BJP is losing ground in Western U.P., their base has shrunk with communities now understanding how serious the damage done by the ruling party to the region was ,” he added.
Mini Pakistan
Union Minister Sanjeev Balyan speaking recently at the International Jat Parliament held in Meerut said that Western U.P. should become a separate state and Meerut should be its capital, leading to an uproar, with his own party disagreeing. A former BJP MLA going as far as to say if this happens western U.P. will become a mini Pakistan.
“Union minister Sanjeev Balyan floated the idea of making western UP a separate state. But this is not good for the future of western UP. If this happens, then western UP will become a mini Pakistan,” said Mr. Som, pointing to the increasing numbers of Muslims in the region.
Analysts feels the issue is not relevant in contemporary U.P. politics arguing the demand made by the Union Minister was addressing caste politics in the region primarily a section of the Jat community.
“The demand for a separate state is not a new thing, even during the days of Chaudhary Charan Singh, it came up, but the region never witnessed a mass movement over it and failed to attract support on the ground over the years. The recent statement by a Union Minister and Muzaffarnagar MP is aimed at ‘pacifying’ a section of Jat community, who have been making this demand for decades,” said Abhay Kumar Dubey, a noted political scientist, teaching at Ambedkar University in New Delhi.
