Chief minister Mayawati took the first formal step towards dividing Uttar Pradesh into four states as the state assembly passed a resolution to this effect by a voice vote on Monday.

With the passage of the resolution, the assembly session came to an end, though it was to last for two days.

Mayawati played the ace card ahead of the assembly elections – expected early next year – with a cabinet decision of on Nov 16 endorsing the formal proposal of division. The assembly resolution will now be forwarded to the centre for further action.

In a hurriedly convened press meet soon after the session was adjourned, Mayawati said the decision to split the state was not a poll gimmick as alleged by the opposition.

She also explained the curtailment of the session saying the opposition was not allowing the house to continue its proceedings and opposition members created pandemonium.

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Division of UP aimed at covering up 'sins' of BSP misrule: BJP

(PTI) Attacking chief minister Mayawati for getting a resolution passed in the UP Assembly for splitting the state into four parts, BJP on Monday said the move was a "political drama" aimed at covering up "sins of BSP's misrule."

"This whole exercise is a cover up of the sins of the misrule of Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh for the past four-and-a-half years," BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters in the national capital.

He alleged that "it is a joint strategy of BSP, Congress and Samajwadi party to divert attention of the people, as it does not suit any of them that corruption and crime be made an issue in UP in the forthcoming polls."

Naqvi said, "The people of UP are asking what BSP has done in the last four-and-a-half years for the welfare of the state and its people."

He also asked Mayawati to name "four major works" done by her government for the welfare of the state or its people since it came to power.

"If BSP was sincere towards the state and its people and their welfare, it should have announced its decision of dividing the state into four parts soon after they were voted to power in the state," he said.

Naqvi said his party stood to support the "public sentiment" of freeing UP from corruption and crime. He also termed the Mayawati rule as "a champion of scams" which was now on a "spree of making announcements" ahead of the 2012 assembly polls.

Decision on resolution taken under compulsion: Maya

(PTI) Accusing the opposition of hatching a political conspiracy to defame her government, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Monday claimed the decision on bringing the resolution to split the state was taken under "compulsion".

"The BSP government was already taking initiative for the reorganisation of the state and the decision to bring a resolution in the assembly was taken under compulsion as the centre was not taking any decision in this regard," Mayawati told reporters in Lucknow.

She said the resolution would be sent to the centre soon.

"Allegations of opposition parties terming the resolution as a political stunt are entirely wrong as immediately after forming the government in 2007, a letter was sent to the prime minister in this regard," she said.

"When the centre took no decision on this, the government was forced to bring a resolution after getting it approved by the cabinet," she said.

She said the opposition claims of the government being in minority were entirely "baseless and false".

"I strongly reject the allegations which are part of a big political conspiracy to weaken the government," Mayawati alleged.

"I will like to question opposition parties that if some MLAs are not contesting elections willingly, have they ceased to be members of the party," she asked.

Observing that some MLAs and ministers were facing Lokayukta inquiry, she said, "While resignation was taken from some ministers, few others were removed so that the government cannot be accused of shielding anyone".

She said that in such cases none of the MLAs have ceased to be a member of the party.

"None of the MLAs said that they were no longer with the party. In such a case, how can opposition parties say that the government is in minority," she said.

Mayawati said that if this was the criteria, opposition parties should look towards the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh where dozen of MLAs have submitted their resignation on Telangana issue. .

"A number of MPs of the centre are in jail and there are other examples, but neither the Congress nor any other opposition parties talk about the central government being in minority," Mayawati said.

"When it happens in UP, discussions start about the government being in minority. It's a big political conspiracy against the party and the government. I clearly see an anti-Dalit mentality behind it," she alleged.

She said the government was not at all in the minority and has numbers in excess of majority and a number of opposition MLAs have joined the BSP.

"From today's incident it is clear that Congress and other opposition parties are against reorganisation of the state and do not want its development," she alleged.

She also condemned the conduct of the SP and other opposition parties in the Assembly.

"As far as no-confidence motion of the opposition parties is concerned, passage of vote of account proves that the government has the confidence of the house," Mayawati said, adding people would give a befitting reply to the opposition parties in the forthcoming elections.

"The speaker conducted the house constitutionally, but the opposition parties did not let the house proceed by creating din," she said.

On a question regarding dissolution of the government before time, she said the party has complete majority and there was no question of any such step.

UP Assembly passes resolution to split state into four parts

(PTI) Amidst din, the Uttar Pradesh assembly on Monday passed a controversial resolution on splitting the state into four parts by voice vote minutes after which the lower house was adjourned sine die.

Chief minister Mayawati, who had announced the proposal recently to split the state into Purvanchal, Paschim Pradesh, Bundelkhand and Awadh Pradesh, presented the resolution saying that it was being forwarded to the centre.

As soon as the proposal was passed by voice vote amidst noisy scenes, speaker Rajbhar adjourned the house sine-die.

The opposition, which wanted to bring no confidence motion against the state government, criticised the move to pass the resolution by voice vote and then adjourning the Assembly.

Alleging that BSP government ignored Baba Saheb's (Bhim Rao Ambedkar) Constitution and adjourned the house sine-die, leader of opposition Shivpal Singh Yadav told reporters that "The government should have discussed the no-confidence motion and go for voting".

He also accused the speaker of acting as a BSP member.

About state's reorganisation, SP said that people of the state were against splitting the state.

CLP leader Pramod Tiwari said his party favoured constitution of state reorganisation commission before taking the decision to split the state so that resources division and other issues could be considered.

In the House of 403, BSP had 220 members (after six of its members have been disqualified recently), SP had 89, BJP 48, Cong 20, RLD 10, independent 9, RSP one.

Earlier, the Winter Session of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly started on a stormy noted with BJP members jumping into the well of the House while SP members started slogan shouting against the government and waved placards.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Lalji Verma said the BSP government had full majority in the House but opposition members did pay heed to him.

Amidst din, Speaker Sukhdeo Rajbhar adjourned the question hour till 12.20 pm.

When the House met again, in the presence of Mayawati, who was not present during question hour, the SP and BJP members jumped into the well demanding discussion on no-confidence motion.

Amidst din, hurling of paper balls on the Speaker and alert marshalls trying to catch them, vote on account for the first four months of 2012-13 was passed by the House.

Tiwari alleged that BSP government acted against democracy and SP and BJP had helped the party in the job.

"Both SP and BJP jumped into the well. No confidence motion could not be brought from the well. They should have stood in their place for discussion on the motion", Tiwari said.

Terming proposal of division of state as mere "election stunt", BJP Leader Om Prakash Singh said that Centre should not accept the proposal.

Advocating for a reorganisation commission, Singh said that as UP's proposal was passed without discussion and debate it should not be accepted at any cost.

Rastriya Lok Dal (RLD) leader Kokab Hamid said the state government was not serious about splitting the state and the way the proposal was passed showed the same.

SP and BJP will be meeting Governor BL Joshi later in the day to register their protest against the BSP government.

In a bid to outsmart rivals ahead of the Assembly elections, Mayawati had last week announced her plans to bring a resolution in the House for carving out four new states.

The Chief Minister, who had earlier written a letter for reorganisation of the state to the Prime Minister maintaining that it was not in the jurisdiction of the state, had said that the decision has been taken after proper consideration to mount pressure on the Centre.

This demand is also in keeping with the aspirations and ambitions of these regions, she had claimed.

Mayawati's move is seen as an attempt by her to cash in on the sentiments in favour of small states in the western and eastern regions and the Bundelkhand area of the state during the Assembly elections.