Bitter policies over Bundelkhand, as well as the drought, have brought a new twist to the turmoil in Uttar Pradesh. With AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday over the implementation of a central government report for a package of Rs 8,000 crore to develop the Bundelkhand region and the formation of a separate Bundelkhand Authority, a war of sorts is set to be unleashed between the Congress and the UP government.
A delegation, led by Rahul Gandhi, brought to the notice of the Prime Minister that since the issue concerns both Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, a separate Bundelkhand Authority should be created and all funds should be channelised through this, in order to eradicate poverty at the earliest. Rahul Gandhi, who had visited the region last year after a string of suicide deaths, has often accused the state government of failing to protect farmers and redirecting funds meant for development for building statues and museums, thus forcing the people to migrate. ?The region is on the verge of collapse and the people are suffering from acute poverty, lack of drinking water, employment and literacy,? he had said. It was after his visit that the Centre appointed a Planning Commission team along with the Samra committee to look into the issue. While the Plan panel recommended that a Rs 8000-crore package be given to the region and a separate authority be created for channelising funds, the Samra committee seemed to favour a package of Rs 3,866 crore.
While the Congress is pitching for the implementation of the Plan panel recommendations, the Mayawati government is asking the Centre to release funds as per the Samra committee recommendations. Mayawati had also shot off two letters to the Prime Minister, in which she reiterated her demand for a Rs 80,000-crore special incentive package for Bundelkhand and Purvanchal regions and urged the Centre to approve a special package for Bundelkhand based on the recommendations of the Samra Committee.
Mayawati had also said that the economic growth of the state has been hampered due to the non-cooperation of central agencies and requested the Centre to introduce projects like Rail Coach Factory, NIFT and National Institute of Pharmaceuticals Education and Research campuses in Bundelkhand, which she said would resolve the problem of unemployment in the region. Interestingly, all the projects mentioned by Mayawati have been set up in Rae Bareli and Amethi, constituencies represented by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
The ongoing tussle in the state may see a further rise with a resurgent Congress and a defensive BSP vying for a foothold in the fast-changing political equations in the state.