Senior Congress leaders from the Vidarbha region, who came out openly against the Maharashtra state leadership of their own party over the issue of a separate Vidarbha state two days ago, have now started travelling across the region to seek support for the issue. Former Union Minister and seven-time Nagpur MP Vilas Muttemwar, and former state cabinet ministers Nitin Raut and Satish Chaturvedi, had addressed a press conference in Nagpur on Tuesday, criticising senior Congress leader and the leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Mr. Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and former Maharashtra chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Narayan Rane, for opposing the demand of a separate Vidarbha state.
“Who has given them permission to oppose statehood for Vidarbha? How can they say that they would bring a resolution for a united state? They have no sanction from the high command to say so. Are they even aware of the implications of this act? What about the people of Vidarbha, who have always supported the demand for a separate state? We will complain to the high command against every leader of the Congress who speaks against statehood for Vidarbha,” said Mr. Muttemwar.
On Wednesday, senior Congress leader Madhukar Kimmatkar and former Chandrapur MP Naresh Pugalia also backed the demand for a separate state.
Mr. Pugalia went on to demand a referendum on the issue and Mr. Kimmatkar suggested a separate unit of the party in Vidarbha. According to some Congress sources, these leaders now plan to tour all the districts of the region and seek support for the cause of a separate state of Vidarbha. The first meeting took place in Yavatmal on Thursday at the residence of former state cabinet minister Shivajirao Moghe.
“They now plan to travel to Chandrapur, Akola and other districts to sense the ground sentiment on the issue,” informed a Congress leader from Yavatmal. Vilas Muttemwar's son Vishal, however, denied that his father has been planning or heading any such drive on the issue of statehood for
Vidarbha. “His reaction against some Congress leaders was triggered by the statements against a separate Vidarbha by these Congress leaders in the
state assembly. The series of meetings in Yawatmal and other districts were planned earlier to discuss overall issues concerning the region,” Vishal Muttemwar told The Hindu . Mr. Moghe's son Jitendra also said that his father would go according to the party's decision on the issue.
Sources, however, claimed that the issue of a separate Vidarbha has been dominating these meetings and all the “sidelined” leaders now view it as an opportunity to come to centrestage. The trigger for the Vidarbha Congress leaders' move was the attack by Mr. Vikhe Patil and Mr. Rane on the Devendra Fadnavis government in the state legislature on Monday for “planning to bifurcate Maharashtra”. Mr. Muttemwar had expressed anguish over his party leaders’ attempt to bring a resolution for a united Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena and had called it a “deviation from the official party line”.
