The demand for creation of a separate Vidarbha state gained sudden momentum after the developments last night when Union home minister P Chidambaram announced a separate Telangana state.
Today senior Congress member of Parliament from the city, Vilas Muttemwar, who was minister of State for renewable energy and a protagonist of statehood for Vidarbha, met prime minister Manmohan Singh and demanded separate Vidarbha.
In a letter to prime minister, Muttemwar said the people of Vidarbha have been peacefully demanding statehood to Vidarbha region since long. Vidarbha region has great potential, and was economically viable.
The proposal for creation of separate Vidarbha has been studied by many committees from time to time, Muttemwar said, while thanking him for settling the Telangana issue once for all and agreeing for a separate Telangana state.
"I feel the time has come to respect the aspirations of the people of Vidarbha by carving out separate Vidarbha out of existing state of Maharashtra," Muttemwar said in his letter, a copy of which was released to the press here today.
