Vidarbha statehood: No proposal under consideration to carve out separate state out of Maha, Govt to Lok Sabha

New Delhi, Nov 30: The Centre on Tuesday said it has no proposal under consideration for the formation of a separate Vidarbha state out of Maharashtra.

Replying to a question on whether the Centre had taken steps to carve out a separate Vidarbha state out of Maharashtra, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said, "No such proposal is under consideration with government," However, the minister claimed that there have been demands and representations from time to time from various individuals and organisations for the creation of new states.

"Creation of a new state has wide ramifications and has a direct bearing on the federal polity of our country. The government takes a decision on the matter of formation of new states after taking into consideration all relevant factors, and only when there is a broad consensus on the issue," Rai said.

For decades, there have been demands from political leaders from the Vidarbha region for a separate hood. In fact, it was a key poll issue in the Lok Sabha elections 2014 and Opposition Leader in Maharashtra Assembly Devendra Fadnavis was vocal about the cause.

However, the issue has fizzled out in recent years as only a few small parties have tried to keep the issue alive.