Smaller states: Mayawati should first do her work, says Digvijay

Slamming Chief Minister Mayawati for playing politics by demanding that smaller states be carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh Tuesday said she should first complete the work she has to do before demanding their creation from the centre.

"It would have been much better if she had gone for an economic survey and passed a resolution before demanding the creation of smaller states from the centre," Singh told reporters in Basti district, some 300 km from Lucknow.

Singh, who is also the party's in-charge of Uttar Pradesh affairs, appealed to the central government to constitute the second States Reorganisation Commission.

"Creation of smaller states is a very sensitive issue. The second State Reorganisation Commission should be set up so that the demand for smaller states could be taken care of," he said.

After her demand for trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh to create Bundelkhand and Harit Pradesh, Chief Minister Mayawati has now sought carving out Purvanchal comprising the state's eastern districts.

She has said further partition of Uttar Pradesh would "ultimately be in the larger interest of providing better governance, besides, of course, living up to the expectations of the people".