NAGPUR: Two Congress MPs and 10 MLAs on Thursday met President Pratibha Patil in a delegation to seek her support for demand of separate
Vidarbha.
Among those in the delegation that met Patil in Amravati, where she is camping, were MPs Vilas Muttemwar and Datta Meghe, legislators Dinanath Padole, Ravi Rana, Subhash Dhote, Sanjay Deotale, S Q Zama, Nliesh Parwekar, Wamanrao Kasawar, Anil Bonde and Anandrao Gedam.
"The President gave a patient hearing to us and assured us that she would look into the matter," said Muttemwar. The memorandum submitted by the delegation lists the history of the separate state demand, right from pre-independence era. In 1938, the Central Province legislature had unanimously passed a resolution for creation of Mahavidarbha state. But later, the region, then in parts ruled by Nizams, was merged into CP & Berar province.
In 1955, the State Reorganisation Commission, headed by Justice Fazal Ali, also recognised Vidarbha's case as a viable and economically surplus state. However, the then government, led by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, persuaded the people to allow its merger with Maharashtra.
"We humbly submit that violent agitations and disruption of law and order should not be considered as criteria to justify granting of statehood to any region. The fact that people of Vidarbha have not resorted to such undesirable aggression should not be construed as absence of mass support to the cause or lack of genuine aspirations of the people," the memorandum stated.