Nagpur: Expressing confidence that the
proposed Vidarbha bandh on January 20 for demanding separate
Vidarbha state will be successful, Bharip Bahaujan Mahasangh
leader, former MP Prakash Ambedkar today said it would send a
strong message to leadership in Delhi as well.
Responding to reports that the bandh may not get response
in areas dominated by Shiv Sena in western Vidarbha, Ambedkar
told newsmen today that in both Amravati and Buldana, where
Sena has some presence, bandh will be total.
He criticised the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee
(MPCC) president Manikrao Thakre's stand on separate Vidarbha
issue and said people this time will not succumb to such
pressure tactics.
The call for bandh has been given by all parties and no
individual is leading the agitation. It is the people of the
region who want separate Vidarbha, he said.
"After the proposed January 20 bandh, leaders from various
political parties will proceed to Delhi to convince the
central leadership over statehood to Vidarbha before the
budget session of Parliament during which Telenagana issue
is likely to be settled", Ambedkar said.
Quoting his grandfather late Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the
father of Constitution, Ambedkar said, "Babasaheb had
favoured creation of five states within Maharashtra and Uttar
Pradesh in those days".
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 19, 2010, 00:38