Mulayam’s remarks irk statehood agitators

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, December 4

The statement of Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Mulayam Singh Yadav that Uttarakhand would have been better had it still been part of Uttar Pradesh has irked statehood agitators and political parties in the state.

Mulayam was in Uttarakhand to attend a private function yesterday and during his interaction with mediapersons he challenged the very basis of the creation of the state. He said there was no point in carving out Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh as the nascent state was still dependent on the Centre for funds. He added had Uttarakhand been part of Uttar Pradesh, it would have got special funds for development from the Centre like Bundalkhand and Poorvanchal regions.

Statehood agitators and political parties in the state have reacted sharply to Mulayam's statement. Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (Panwar) president Trivendra Singh Panwar said Mulayam had no business to decide who benefited from the formation of the state. He alleged Mulayam was responsible for depriving Uttarakhand its right over its genuine assets.

UKD (P) spokesman Manmohan Lakhera echoed similar sentiments and said Mulayam always worked against the interests of Uttarakhand. “Mulayam opposed the formation of Uttarakhand tooth and nail and even committed atrocities on statehood agitators,” he said. Another statehood agitator Prabhat Dandriyal said Mulayam played a nefarious role during the statehood movement.

State BJP president Teerath Singh Rawat said Mulayam had never been a well wisher of Uttarakhand. Even during the days of Uttar Pradesh, Mulayam used to punish officials by posting them in Uttarakhand.

Mulayam’s statement has come at a time when the Congress-led state government had only a few days ago given a warm welcome to his son and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.