Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Ranjit Deshmukh, who attended the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, told the media that all the special invitees of the region strongly pleaded the case for a separate Vidarbha state.

These included former Union ministers N K P Salve, Vasant Sathe, former Deputy Chief Minister Nasikrao Tirpude, and Lok Sabha member from Nagpur Vilasrao Muttemwar. They appealed to the party chief that the Congress should support the bill for creation of these three States only if the government was ready to create a separate Vidarbha State.

``The issue (separate Vidarbha) is a genuine one and the State Re-organisation Commission (SRC), chaired by Fazal Ali, had recommended it long back inits report. "The Congress should make it a point to support the proposed bill in Parliament, but only on the condition that the government includes Vidarbha in the bill,'' they said.

The Vidarbha issue was raised in the two-day CWC meeting, held at New Delhi, a couple of days back. Five prominent party leaders of the region, including Salve, Muttemwar, Sathe, and Tirpude, were invited as special invitees in the extended meeting to plead the case.

Deshmukh said that Congressmen from the region pointed out that the party should ensure that the BJP should not get mileage out of it, and hence the Congress should give conditional support.

On the plight of farmers in Vidarbha, Deshmukh lashed out at the State Government for not initiating necessary measures to prevent the series of suicides by farmers in the region.

``The problem will not be solved by giving Rs 1 lakh to each of the victim's family. The government should adopt the necessary measures to prevent recurrence of such a tragedy,'' he pointedout. Over 40 farmers had committed suicide in the region due to the wrong agriculture policy of the coalition government, he alleged.

He ridiculed Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Nirupam who said that the Congress was politicising the issue.

He also refuted Nirupam's allegation that the suicide figures were exaggerated.

The farmers of the region were facing hardships due to huge debts as the kharif and rabi crops were totally ruined, following un-seasonal rains and hailstorm. This had led to the suicides.

``It is a cruel joke on the farmers' miseries,'' Deshmukh said. ``Urbane politicians like Nirupam would not be able to understand the problem of farmers.''

The MPCC has demanded that the Government should provide compensation at the rate of Rs 5,000 per hectare of affected land to its owners.

The state Congress would take out protest rallies all over the state on June 20 to press the genuine demands of farmers, including waiving of loan and hiking of compensation rate.

If theGovernment fails to concede to the demands by middle of July, the Congress would launch a jail bharo agitation all over the state soon, he warned.

Deshmukh said that the Congress would win all the 10 seats in the state assembly by-election scheduled to be held on June 3. He claimed that his party had struck a seat-adjustment deal with the Republican Party of India and Samajwadi Party.