Mumbai, February 19 (IANS): Spurred by the passing of the bill to create a separate Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh, political parties in Maharashtra, barring Shiv Sena, again raised the demand for a separate Vidarbha here Wednesday.
Republican Party of India-A chief Ramdas Athawale announced an agitation to support the cause of a separate Vidarbha from Feb 24 in the state’s eastern region. “The central government should have conceded the demand for a separate Vidarbha and created it along with Telangana,” Athawale demanded, adding that his party would meet Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on the issue.
He added that the region is lagging behind in terms of development, is plagued by farmers’ suicides and faces huge power cuts daily. “If it is carved as a separate state, it will give a fillip to the development of the region which has been neglected for long and provide relief to the people there,” Athawale pointed out to media persons here.
Bharatiya Janata Party state president Devendra Fadnavis said that the party has already passed a resolution and is committed towards smaller states, including Vidarbha. Similarly, Congress state president Manikrao Thakre declared that the party would support a separate Vidarbha. However, the Shiv Sena - an ally of the BJP and RPI-A - is strongly opposed to creating Vidarbha.
Telangana state
by month-end?
HYDERABAD, February 19 (PTI): With the passage of a bill in Lok Sabha, formation of a separate Telangana state has almost become a reality. But there are still some formalities left to complete the entire process. If all goes well, two states — Telangana and the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh, will come into existence by month-end, say political observers.
Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha amid pandemonium, will now go to Rajya Sabha. If any amendments to the bill are passed, it has to go again to Lok Sabha. Once approved by both the houses, the bill will go to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent. After the President gives his assent, the legislation will be notified in the central gazette. It will come into effect from the date of publication of the gazette or any date by the central government.
