Vidarbha shuts down for statehood

The emotionally charged and sometimes-violent Telangana movement may be holding the country’s attention, but a quieter yet equally spontaneous response seems to be growing in demand for Vidarbha. In one of the biggest recent shows of popular will for a new state, a bandh—couched in a hartal to avoid legal hassles—pressing for Vidarbha saw a surge of popular participation across the region on Wednesday.It was called by the Vidarbha Rajya Jagran Samiti, a rainbow coalition of the Congress, NCP, BJP, RPI, SP, Shetkari Sanghatana and Swatantra Bharat Paksha, among others. Some of the local units of these parties went ahead with the agitation though their upper echelons are yet to back the statehood call. The spontaneous support took the Congress leaders by surprise as the state leadership is said to have warned its Vidarbha partymen against joining the strike. It has also embarrassed the party as MPs Vilas Muttemwar and Datta Meghe are key protagonists of the green-shoot movement.The local leaders are acting on the fears that the BJP, which backs smaller states and has been supporting the creation of a separate Vidarbha for two decades, could extract political mileage. Its only comfort would rest in the fact that the BJP, too, has a crack that threatens to rock its boat as its ally Shiv Sena has openly opposed the statehood call. Along with the MNS, the Sainiks stayed away from Wednesday’s strike in which stray incidents of violence were reported in some parts. Over 200 people were detained for violating orders. Business establishments have already announced support for the statehood demand and ensured that the bandh was a success. The Congress brass is trying to ensure the agitation doesn’t spin out of control. Vidarbha leader Jambuvantrao Dhote’s threat that he would rope in Naxalites has the leadership worried. But senior leaders from the region are gung-ho and have decided to call on UPA chief Sonia Gandhi and PM Manmohan Singh. The rumblings are there in the NCP, too, which is playing it safe after openly supporting the separate statehood call.