By IANS,
New Delhi: Though the Uttar Pradesh assembly Monday passed a resolution seeking division of the state into four states by a voice vote without any discussion, the division can take place only after several other steps including approval by the union government and later by parliament, constitutional experts point out.
In fact, Uttar Pradesh has completed only three of the seven procedures needed for the formation of new states – (i) a proposal by the state general administration department regarding the boundaries and maps of the new states, (ii) approval by the state cabinet, which was done on Nov 16 and, (iii) approval by the state assembly, which was done by a voice vote Monday.
The next procedure will be the state government forwarding the resolution to the union government. This is because the formation of a new state needs a Constitutional amendment.
As the fifth step, the union cabinet will consider the resolution. If the government agrees, it will make a fresh draft and will table it in the parliament.
If the parliament adopts the resolution as a constitutional amendment, it will be sent back to Uttar Pradesh government for the final passage.
As the seventh and last step, the state government will have to ratify the decision.
With assembly elections round the corner in Uttar Pradesh, no decision on the division of the state is likely in the coming months, constitutional lawyer Ranji Thomas told IANS.
The state assembly passed a resolution with voice vote for four-way division of the state – into Purvanchal, Paschim Pradesh, Avadh Pradesh and Bundelkhand – amid pandemonium by opposition members.