Union Minister Athawale raises pitch for Vidarbha state

Hyderabad :  Raising the pitch for carving out Vidarbha state, Union minister Ramdas Athawale today said it is high time that the BJP takes a call on the issue as it is in power in Maharashtra and at the Centre. Athawale, who is the chief of Republican Party of India (A), said that the people of Vidarbha region want a separate state.

“The BJP had been supporting a separate Vidarbha state since long. Now the BJP is in power in Maharashtra and also at the Centre. From RPI(A) we would like to tell that (it is) the BJP (which) has been in favour of smaller states,” Athawale told reporters here.

“Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has not said no on this matter (statehood to Vidarbha). Only Shiv Sena is opposed to this. All other parties support it,” he said. “A decision has to be taken, the way (a decision was taken) earlier, under the National Democratic Alliance government, the decision was taken for creation of three new states — Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Uttarakhand,” the minister of state for social justice and empowerment said.

He said the BJP has since long been advocating for a separate Vidarbha, even when it was in the opposition. “We are also supporting the demand for the formation of Vidarbha state and we appeal the central government to carve out a separate Vidarbha,” he said. Just like the separate Telangana state was formed, a separate Vidarbha state should also be carved out of Maharashtra. The people from Vidarbha region too want a separate state, Athawale said.