Chennai: At a time when there were talks about carving out Kongu Naadu, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai today informed the Parliament that there is no proposal of bifurcation of Tamilnadu.
In response to a question raised by Perambalur MP T R Paarivendhar, Nityanand said in Lok Sabha, “Demands and representations are received from time to time from various individuals and organisations for creation of new States. Creation of a new State has wide ramification and direct bearing on the federal polity of our country. Government moves on the matter of formation of new States after taking into consideration all relevant factors. Presently no such proposal is under consideration.”
Paarivendhar had asked if the Union government has any proposal to bifurcate any State in the country including Tamilnadu.
He also asked if the government had received any demand from any individual or organisation to bifurcate any State in the country.
The issue of Kongu Naadu began during the reshuffle of the Union Cabinet in July. One of the new inductees into the cabinet was L Murugan, the former state chief of the BJP’s Tamilnadu unit.
When the Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Information Broadcasting was introduced, he was mentioned as hailing from ‘Kongu Naadu’.
Following this, rumours were rife that the Central government was planning to carve out the western belt in Tamilnadu where the BJP has a considerable support base as a separate Union Territory or State.
The ruling DMK, and even some in the AIADMK have already come out in opposition to the idea of bifurcating of Tamilnadu.
However, two weeks after the issue began, Murugan clarified that the mention of Kongu Naadu was a clerical mistake and stated that the BJP has no intention to divide the State and play emotional politics.