Strong plea in LS for creation of separate Vidarbha

A strong plea for creation of separate Vidarbha along with that of Telangana was made by a Congress member in the Lok Sabha today.
Raising the issue through special mention, Vilas Muttemwar said the demand of statehood for Vidarbha is that of restoration unlike other such demands for statehood.
"Vidarbha demand is not a reaction to the announcement of Telengana but it is the oldest one as would be evident from the fact that the proposal of a separate Vidarbha state has been studied and recommended by various authorities and committees set up by the government for more than 125 years," he said.

He said that in 1888, the British administration had recommended formation of a separate state of Vidarbha to the then British Commissionarate. The Montegue Chelmsford Reform in 1918 had supported the demand of separate Vidarbha consisting of Marathi speaking districts of the then Central Province and Berar.
Considering that this region remained most economically backward because of lack of resource allocation, good governance and micromanagement of local problems, the demand for separate Vidarbha State has become all the more imperative, he said.