Thaindian News

Kolkata, Dec 12 (IANS) With the rising clamour of statehood demands from other parts of the country, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Saturday that the nod for Telangana did not mean that new states would be created everywhere.
Answering queries from reporters at a function in North 24 Parganas district, Mukherjee said the demand for Telangana was old and it “does not mean that everywhere new states are to be created”.

He said Home Minister P. Chidambaram had indicated that there were several stages leading to formation of a state, and in the case of Telangana, developments were at a preliminary stage.

Mukherjee’s response comes amid a flurry of statehood demands from across the country.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Friday demanded that her state be trifurcated into Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh for better governance. She said she has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue.

The centre’s decision to start the process of forming Telangana has stoked the dormant demands for statehood across the country, including Vidarbha, Gorkhaland, Bodoland, Harit Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal.

While Rashtriya Lok Dal leader Ajit Singh has renewed his demand for Harit Pradesh, Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar has revived the demand for carving Vidarbha out of Maharashtra.

Faced with the growing clamour for new states, the Congress Friday accepted that lack of development in a region could be a reason for the demand for smaller states, but stressed that the party was against demands for new states being made for “political adjustment of leaders”.

Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed also admitted that the rising demand for new states had increased the difficulties for the government, but said it would respond with a cool mind.