The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has been unable to create the proposed State of Telangana and address the concerns of the people of the region and those of Seemandhra, the Bharatiya Janata Party said on Saturday.
Citing the formation of Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh when the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was in power at the Centre, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said in a statement that the BJP had set an example on how States should be created.
Consistent support
“The BJP has consistently supported the proposal to create a State of Telangana. At the same time, we believe that justice should be done to the region of Seemandhra. The manner in which the Congress has gone about on this issue displays a complete lack of statecraft,” he said.
Mr. Jaitley said due diligence was carried out before creating the three States in 2000, when Atal Behari Vajpayee was Prime Minister and L.K. Advani headed the Home Ministry.
The [then] Home Minister held wide consultations with the States. A comfort level was given to each of the States [by assuring them] that the creation of the new States would not adversely affect them,” the BJP leader said.
“Not a single protest took place in any of the States. As Law Minister, I visited all the three States for inauguration of the High Court Benches. There was an environment of celebration among the people. They were grateful to the NDA for having fulfilled the poll promise,” he said.
Drawing comparisons with the steps to create Telangana, the BJP leader said the region and Seemandhra suspected the intention of the Congress. “Adequate homework has not been done. The deft political handling required to identify the issues and balance the creation of the new State with a possible sense of injustice that people in Seemandhra may feel has not been done. Alternatively, both regions are in a state of turmoil. The ruling party itself is on the verge of split,” he said.
