Hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that Uttar Pradesh should take an initiative in the formation of Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati has dashed off a letter to him.
Mayawati, stated that the UP government had already opined that not only Purvanchal but also Bundelkhand and Western UP should be made separate states.
Rolling the ball back in the UPA government?s court, Mayawati said, ?As per the Constitution, it is the Center which should take the initiative for the formation of a new state??, she said.
Addressing a meeting of her party workers here on the occasion of party founder Kanshi Ram?s 74the birth anniversary, Mayawati said the UP government had already clarified its stand on carving out Purvanchal, Bundelkhand and Western Uttar Pradesh and added that she had also requested the UPA government to take necessary action as required under the Constitution for creating new states. ?Under Article 3 of the Constitution, only Parliament could create new states and change the areas borders or names of the present states, by law,?? she said. Mayawati also, criticising the UPA government for not considering the name of Kanshi Ram for Bharat Ratna.