BSP will back Telangana bill in parliament: Maya

HYDERABAD: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would support a bill in parliament for the formation of a separate Telangana state if the United Progressive Alliance government tables it, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said Saturday."If the government tables a bill to carve out Telangana state (from Andhra Pradesh), the BSP will vote in favour of the bill," she told a meeting of the party's state unit at L.B. Nagar here.She said the BSP stood for smaller states and that it would support a separate Telangana state."B.R. Ambedkar was in favour of smaller states and since we are his followers we will support the demand of Telangana," she said, claiming that her party supported carving out a separate Uttarakhand state from Uttar Pradesh.The BSP leader was confident that the party would become strong in a separate Telangana state. "There will also be a chance of a Dalit becoming the chief minister of Telangana," she said.Mayawati noted that Telangana was backward and people of the region had long been demanding a separate state. "The centre should accept the demand of the people of Telangana," she added.