BJP firm on seperate Vidarbha: Gadkari

Kopargaon, Maharashtra, Feb 12 (UNI) Expressing his party's firm view on a separate Vidarbha, Maharashtra BJP president Nitin Gadkari said development in backward Vidarbha cannot take place unless it was made a separate state.

Talking to reporters after attending the Pandit Din Dayal Upadhayay Memorial lecture here late last evening, Mr Gadkari urged all political parties to support the demand mooted by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Recalling the initiatives of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government during its tenure at the Centre in establishing two new smaller states -- Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, Mr Gadkari said that creation of smaller states have proved that development can be undertaken faster.

When pointed out that the BJP's ally Shiv Sena in the state was not in favour of separate Vidarbha, Mr Gadkari said his party is confident of winning their support by convincing them on the issue.

Referring to the rising suicides in Vidarbha even after the relief package from the Centre, the senior BJP leader held the state government responsible for the same.

Mr Gadkari said the Democratic Front (DF) Government has been making series of announcements for the farmers in Vidarbha, but nothing was actually delivered till now, as a result of which the suicides were continuing unabated.

The former Maharashtra Public Works Minister, while referring to the increased duration in loadshedding across the state, warned that the shortage of power supply may lead to further suicides in April-May if the loadshedding was not reduced.

He charged that neither the state government nor the Union Agriculture Ministry, headed by NCP chief Sharad Pawar, was serious about resolving the issues of the farmers.

Mr Gadkari pointed out that farmers in the state had to pay 14 per cent interest on loans for buying tractors whereas the same amount of loan was available at 7 per cent to purchase a Mercedes.

Referring the present status of the co-operative banking, Mr Gadkari said that the co-operative banks have been involved in scams and they have lost confidence of the common man in the state, and said in the situation, the government needs to take an overall view.

Mr Gadkari reiterated that the BJP-Sena combine will fight the forthcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections together UNI XR-MPJ MAZ RL RAI2013