Federation For New States, an outfit fighting for the creation of new states, will kick off the fresh leg of agitation for statehood for Vidarbha with a day-long dharna tomorrow.
The national vice-president of the federation, Thakur Kishor Singh Bais, and Vidarbha region president Deepak Nilawar claimed at a press conference that the demand for Vidarbha statehood is over a century old and predates that of Telangana.
"Vidarbha missed the bus a decade ago when new states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were carved out. The leaders from western Maharashtra who knew well that their future would be bleak if Vidarbha state is created, prevented statehood to Vidarbha," Nilawar alleged.
The Federation has decided to mount pressure on the elected members from ruling and opposition parties from the region to support the cause, he said.
Federation leaders from Telangana, Bodoland and Bundelkhand, who are fighting for the creation of new states in the regions, will be here for the agitation tomorrow, Bais said.