DHAKA: The people of Catalonia in north-eastern Spain are set to take part in an informal poll on independence.

The Spanish judiciary has ruled the vote unconstitutional but Catalan leader Artur Mar warned against any attempt to disrupt it.

Spain’s constitutional court suspended earlier plans for a referendum on secession.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the vote would have no effect and urged the region to return to ‘sanity’, reports the BBC.

Voters will be asked whether they want a Catalan state and whether that state should be independent.

Catalonia is a wealthy a region of 7.5 million people and contributes more to the Spanish economy than it gets back through central government funds.

Economic and cultural grievances have fuelled Catalan nationalism.

BDST: 1155 HRS, NOV 09, 2014