Wamanrao Chatap gestures during a during a sit in protest at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Square in Nagpur.
Credit: DH Photo
Nagpur: Veteran activist and politician Wamanrao Chatap, who is among those spearheading the demand for separate statehood of Vidarbha said it was going to be a do and die battle even a he accused both the Congress and BJP of letting down the people of the vast region of Maharashtra.
Vidarbha comprises two revenue divisions and 11 districts: Nagpur division comprising Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Gondia and Amravati division comprising Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana and Washim - and the region is spread across 97,321 sq km.
“We've lost faith…we believed in the promises of Congress, the assurances of the BJP…but both the Congress and the BJP and their respective alliances have let the people of the region down,” Chatap told DH in Nagpur.
Chatap is among those spearheading the campaign of Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti (VRAS).
“It's a people's agitation, people's demand, it can't be conveniently bypassed…the people have been not only waiting for five decades or seven decades, but over a century,” Chatap said during a sit in at the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Square in Nagpur, the hub of Vidarbha and Maharashtra’s winter capital.
According to Chatap, Vidarbha as a separate State is not only feasible but also necessary.
“An independent state of Vidarbha under Article 3 must be created,” said Chatap, a former legislator, alleging that the Centre and the State government lacked the will to give statehood to Vidarbha.
“In fact, history stands testimony to the fact that whenever a State has been formed, its growth in terms of GDP has been far better than the mother State,” said Chatap.