By IANS
Hyderabad : United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) leader and Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav Sunday opposed the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, saying smaller states were not in the interest of national unity.
“Maoists intensify their activities in smaller states and this is not in the national interest. Since the smaller states are created on the basis of differences among people, this is dangerous for the national unity,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, who was accompanied by his party colleague Amar Singh, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president N. Chandrababu Naidu and National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah.
Yadav said unlike the larger states, the smaller ones will not have a tight grip over law and order and this leads to increase in the Maoist activity.
“We know what is the situation today in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh,” he said alleging that some people for the sake of power were raising the demand for separate states.
His comments came in the presence of Naidu, whose TDP, while in power, had opposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh but recently said an appropriate decision on the issue would be taken at an appropriate time.
Naidu, who held talks with UNPA leaders on various issues, said they would launch a country-wide united struggle to mount pressure on Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre to implement recommendations of Swaminathan Committee for ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their agricultural produce.
Naidu said the recommendations needed to be implemented to make agriculture a remunerative activity and to stop suicides by farmers.
“The Swaminathan Committee, formed by the UPA (United Progressive Allaince) government submitted its report in October 2006 but the report is yet to be implemented,” he said.
The UNPA leaders decided to hold meetings and rallies in all the state in February. They also decided to raise the issue of minimum support price for agricultural produce during the coming budget session of parliament.
Naidu said they would also try to create awareness among farmers that suicide was not the solution of their problems.