India News | VRAS to Step Up Protest for Separate Vidarbha

New Delhi, Apr 4 (PTI) In a bid to step up pressure on the Centre, a group of activists are set to stage a sit-in demonstration in the national capital demanding carving out a separate Vidarbha state from Maharashtra.

The Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti (VRAS) will hold a demonstration at Jantar Mantar on Thursday to press the demand for a separate Vidarbha state, its president Wamanrao Chatap said here.

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He accused the BJP of reneging on its promise of carving out a separate Vidarbha state from Maharashtra despite passing a resolution in its favour at the National Executive meeting of the party in Bhubaneshwar in 1997.

Chatap said several BJP leaders, including Nitin Gadkari, Devendra Fadnavis and Sudhir Mungantiwar, had addressed public rallies promising to carve out a separate Vidarbha state if voted to power in the 2014 elections.

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Chatap said the BJP had to lose power after the 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections as it had reneged its promise of a separate Vidarbha.

A net producer of power and rich in minerals and forests, Vidarbha remains one of the most backward regions in Maharashtra.

The region has given four chief ministers -- Vasantrao Naik, Marotrao Kannamwar, Sudhakarrao Naik and Devendra Fadnavis.

Fadnavis, during his tenure as chief minister, had launched an expressway, Samruddhi Mahamarg, connecting Mumbai with Nagpur in a bid to usher in development in the region.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)