The Hindu : Other States / Uttaranchal News : RLD includes Dehra Dun in `Harit Pradesh'

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Friday, May 20, 2005

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RLD includes Dehra Dun in `Harit Pradesh'

C. K. Chandramohan

DEHRA DUN: The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), which claims to have considerable clout among farmers in Meerut, Saharanpur and Agra divisions of Uttar Pradesh, has included Dehra Dun, Hardwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts of Uttaranchal in its demand for a new "Harit Pradesh" comprising 20 districts of western Uttar Pradesh.

Announcing this here on Thursday, the former MLC and RLD youth wing national president, M. Nagar, said that the plains of western UP and plains of Uttaranchal should be immediately clubbed into a new State as the people of the region shared common problems and culture. Harit Pradesh when formed would emerge to be a really dynamic and prosperous State like Haryana or Punjab, he said.

Training programme

The RLD will hold a two day Harit Pradesh workers training workshop in Hardwar later this month to educate the party workers to enrol support of the masses of the 23 districts in such a way that it gets converted into votes, Mr. Nagar said.

The Harit Pradesh movement of the farmer leader and former Minister, Ajit Singh, has not gained much momentum in Western Uttar Pradesh with the people refusing to support it fearing Jat domination if the new State was formed. Mr. Ajit Singh has however, been using the Harit Pradesh slogan to advantage before elections to garner votes in the Jat-dominated areas. The sudden love for the plains of Uttaranchal finds its roots in the success notched by the Samajwadi Party in winning the Hardwar parliamentary seat by promising the return of Hardwar to Uttar Pradesh.

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RLD includes Dehra Dun in `Harit Pradesh'