Pro-Vidarbha activists gear up for battle

Pro-Vidarbha activists gear up for battle
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NAGPUR, FEB 19: After a brief lull, the pro-Vidarbha activists have decided to keep the issue alive and they have made a beginning by calling for a meeting of like-minded leaders on the issue. The forum has decided to observe a Black Day on Maharashtra Day (May 1) and launch an agitation against those legislators who are not helping the cause.

The decision was taken at a meeting of pro-Vidarbha leaders at the residence of Congress leader Banwarilal Purohit here on Saturday. Former Deputy Chief Minister Nasikrao Tirpude presided.

Addressing the mediapersons after the four-hour long meeting, Purohit said representatives of Congress, BJP, Nationalist Congress Party and Republican Party of India were present at the meeting. However, state ministers from Vidarbha were not present at the meeting. Datta Meghe, Ranjit Deshmukh, Anil Deshmukh (all ministers) and Shobhatai Fadnavis (BJP) could not attend because of their preoccupations, Purohit said.

It was decided at the meeting that an all-party delegation would meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as well as Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The Mukherjee panel report on smaller states is long overdue and we have decided to intensify the agitation to prevent any further delay, Purohit said.

Since an all-party forum is being forged, the pro-Vidarbha leaders should stop criticising leaders from other parties on the issue, suggested Devendra Fadnavis, BJP MLA, who attended Saturday's meeting.