Vidarbha disappointed by Amit Shah statement-GulfNews
Activists say comments go against promises made earlier
Activists say comments go against promises made earlier
http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/vidarbha-disappointed-by-amit-shah-statement-1.1523096
PUBLISHED: 18:19 MAY 27, 2015
Mumbai: For a beleaguered group representing distressed farmers, the utterances of BJP President Amit Shah that the party had never promised separate statehood for Vidarbha is a betrayal and a turnaround after being voted to power in the country a year ago, a farmers’ activist has said.
“It was indeed a U-turn for the BJP, which had backed a separate Vidarbha state and had made formation of smaller states a part of its election agenda,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a farmers’ advocacy group.
He added that Shah may not be aware that the BJP had already passed a resolution for creating Vidarbha in its Bhubaneshwar national meeting in the past.
In fact, the promise of a separate Vidarbha has been part of the BJP manifesto for several decades now, Tiwari said.
The VJAS on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who hails from this region, for not putting forward the issue of statehood for Vidarbha.
“Prior to the elections, Fadnavis and Sudhir Mungantiwar, finance minister, had staged a ‘padayatra’ for a separate Vidarbha,” says Tiwari, “but now the chief minister has made a u-turn.”
A local e-newspaper, Nagpur Wednesday, commented, “Remember there was a time when Fadnavis had made that famous statement that gladdened the hearts of Vidarbha people so much? ‘I would rather be CM of the state of Vidarbha than that of Maharashtra.’ Now as Maharashtra CM, will he allow this Vidarbha dream to die?”
Political leaders as well as the people of this region have for long felt that Vidarbha, which comprises 11 districts, has been given a stepmotherly treatment when compared to Western Maharashtra which has received ample investment and has a higher development level. It has been felt that separating the region from Maharashtra would sort out all its problems.
At a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, Shah categorically said the party had never made any such promise of a separate statehood for Vidarbha.
Expressing disappointment, Tiwari said, “It is unfortunate that there is no internal democracy in the BJP on Wednesday. In Maharashtra, Fadnavis is not consulting anyone except Amit Shah on any decisions taken in the state. Even union minister Nitin Gadkari, who is from Vidarbha, has failed to convince national leadership on the creation of a separate Vidarbha.”
For the Shiv Sena, which is an ally of the BJP in Maharashtra as well as at the Centre, the issue of a separate statehood for Vidarbha has been vehemently opposed and has consistently promoted a unified Maharashtra.
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