Uttar Pradesh to Split Into Three Smaller States: Fact Check

Story:

Breaking news Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh to split into three smaller states – UP, Purvanchal and Bundelkhand

Other Versions

(Hindi)

ब्रेकिंग न्यूज़ लखनऊ: तीन राज्यो में बटेगा उत्तर प्रदेश- उत्तर प्रदेश, बुंदेलखंड व पूर्वांचल

Fact Check:

A ‘breaking news’ doing rounds on social media claims Indian State Uttar Pradesh is going to split into three smaller states – UP, Purvanchal and Bundelkhand. It also accompanies a document allegedly showing the places included in three divisions. The allegations appeared widely on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp among other social media platforms. Nonetheless, the claims are not true.

Uttar Pradesh Division into Smaller States?

The issue of splitting the Indian state Uttar Pradesh into smaller states keeps surfacing again and again. Before polls in 2017, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati said she will divide UP into four smaller states, including Poorvanchal if BSP forms government. Earlier in 2011 during the end of her government, Mayawati passed a resolution in the UP Assembly to carve out Harit Pradesh (western UP), Poorvanchal (eastern UP), Bundelkhand and Awadh. However, the UPA government at centre did not approve the resolution.

Coming back to the current claim in question, there are no credible news reports about splitting Uttar Pradesh into smaller states. BBC News Hindi website bbc.com spoke to media advisor of UP Chief Minister, Mrityunjay Kumar regarding the claims. He said there’s no agenda or proposal to split UP, calling the claims on social media fake. A senior officer from Central Home Ministry of India also refuted the claims saying there is no such proposal. So, the messages doing rounds on social media are fake. The media advisor of UP Chief Minister also advised people not to pay heed to such messages.

Hoax or Fact:

Hoax.