Quit for failing on statehood promise: Activists to MPs

Nagpur: Activists under the aegis of Vidarbha Rajya Andolan Samiti (VRAS) on Friday staged demonstrations in front of the homes of Members of Parliament (MP) in Nagpur, Ramtek and Chandrapur.
While demanding their resignations for their “failure” to raise the demand for Vidarbha state in the Parliament, the protesters accused the MPs of taking U-turn on their promises of statehood before the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls. They shouted anti-government slogans for “neglecting” the backward region over the years.
Chandrapur MP Balu Dhanorkar not only welcomed the protesters with roses but also assured all efforts to fulfill their long pending demand.
Nagpur MP Nitin Gadkari and Ramtek MP Krupal Tumane were not in the city to meet the protesters.
The protestors were on their way to Gadkari’s home when cops stopped them at Khamla Square, leading to confrontation for some time. Cops also thwarted attempts by some protesters to break the barricades.
The Union transportation minister’s secretary invited the delegation to the office and accepted their representation of demands. The VRAS activists handed over similar representation to Tumane’s personal assistant Amit Kature.
In Chandrapur, the activists were led by senior pro-Vidarbha leader and three-time former MLA Wamanrao Chatap and former deputy speaker of state assembly Moreshwar Tembhurde.
In Nagpur, VRAS East Vidarbha president Arun Kedar and Yuva Aghadi Vidarbha Pradesh president Mukesh Masurkar led the march. Many activists like Prabhakar Kondbattunwar, Sunita Yerne, Tatyasaheb Matte, Anil Bobde, Ashok Patil and others participated in the protest march.