Signature campaign acid test for Vidarbha

AMRAVATI, NOV 12: Shiv Sena youth leader Raj Thackeray today called upon the party activists to launch a door-to-door signature campaign i...

AMRAVATI, NOV 12: Shiv Sena youth leader Raj Thackeray today called upon the party activists to launch a door-to-door signature campaign in Vidarbha to gauge the mood of people of the region over the demand for a separate state of Vidarbha.

Addressing prominent party activists during the `mahaadhiveshan’ here, Raj ridiculed the ongoing movement for statehood to Vidarbha and claimed that the leaders in the forefront of the agitation were not really interested in a separate state.

“Had the present minister for textile Ranjit Deshmukh been the Chief Minister of State, he would not have taken the initiative for the separate state of Vidarbha+, Raj claimed.

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“The people of Vidarbha should ask the Congress leaders what have they done for the region all these years. Three chief ministers from this region ruled the state and Congress leaders from Vidarbha virtually controlled the state politics for nearly 15 years, but never bothered for developing the region in a sincere manner”, Raj said.

Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had asked for two years time for development of Vidarbha and had also declared that if this was not done by the SS-BJP alliance, he himself would initiate steps to meet the demand for creation of Vidarbha state.

“Give power back to us and we will carry out developmental work in the region to counter the demand for separate state. We will soon finalise a strategy to counter the separate Vidarbha agitation, and expose the so-called leaders of the region”, Raj said.