Won’t give up demand for separate Vidarbha, says Sudhir Mungantiwar

The newly elected state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president, Sudhir Mungantivar, on Saturday refused to give in to pressure from ally Shiv Sena and drop the demand for statehood for Vidarbha.

Mungantivar, however, also tried to placate the Sena by echoing its view that the police protection offered to Shah Rukh Khan’s My Name Is Khan was uncalled for.

Mungantivar addressed party officials at a conclave in Jalgaon after taking charge. “A separate Vidarbha is not an emotional issue. The issue is not even if the state should be broken into two. We only want each underprivileged person to be happy. I would work for every part of the state, Vidarbha or Western Maharashtra, with equal passion,” Mungantivar said.

He clarified that the BJP-Sena alliance would not break over any petty issue. “We have entered into an alliance for the country’s benefit, not for the sake of power,” he said.

On the subject of the BJP’s work culture, he appealed to party officials to keep aside their ahankar (ego) and work for the underprivileged sections of the society. Only those who work for the BJP ideology would get posts in the party, he stated.

The leader mooted the idea of self-appraisal for party workers. “You should know your strong and weak points. You have to give confidence to the people and you can do it only if you agitate on their behalf,” he said.

Mungantivar came down on the state government for its “failure” to tackle terrorism, farmers’ suicides, inflation, and atrocities against
dalits.

“The state government has lost the capacity to solve problems. Ashok Chavan refused to share the dais with Amitabh Bachchan because he is the brand ambassador of Gujarat. But his government protected the film of an actor who wanted cricketers from Ajmal Kasab’s country to come play in India,” he said, hinting at Chavan giving My Name Is Khan protection even after the film’s star, Shah Rukh Khan, endorsed Pakistani cricketers coming to India.

Senior party leader Gopinath Munde exhorted party workers to leave the comfort of their offices and take to the streets. “Nothing can be achieved by distributing handouts and releasing statements. Come down on the streets and walk with those who are facing injustice,” he said.