The Vidarbha statehood issue, which saw two former Union ministers and one former member of Parliament quitting the Congress over the weekend, got a shot in the arm on Wednesday as the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) decided to extend support to the movement.
Former Union ministers Vasant Sathe and N K P Salve, along with ex-MP Banwarilal Purohit had quit the Congress party on Sunday announcing plans to form a regional outfit to promote the cause of a separate Vidarbha state.
At a press conference, Purohit, along with TRS president and former deputy Speaker of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Chandrashekhar Rao, said the TRS would now also espouse the cause of a separate Vidarbha state.
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Rao said a nationwide agitation will be launched to promote the demand for carving out five new states. He said a meeting of leaders of regional organisations spearheading the cause for the formation of the five small states will be held in New Delhi on September 9.
The meeting will see the formation of a National Front for New States, he informed. Rao said the demand for carving out the five new states of Telangana, Vidarbha, Bundhelkhand, Harit Pradesh and Poorvanchal was justified and had been made several times in the past.