Muttemwar seeks time from Sonia for talks on Vidarbha

Former union minister and Congress MP Vilas Muttemwar has sought time from party president Sonia Gandhi to apprise her about the sentiments of the people of Vidarbha and to push for a separate statehood demand.

In a letter to Congress President, Muttemwar, who had earlier sought audience from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue, said, "I will not do anything that will embarrass the leadership but party must realise and take note of the genuine sentiments of the common people of Vidarbha."

The MP, demanding justice for people of the region, sent the letter with newspaper clippings, showing the impact of the peaceful Vidarbha bandh call given by all parties on January 20 and sought time to discuss the issue.

"In year 2002, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had set up a committee headed by senior party leader Pranab Mukherjee to look into the demands for separate Vidarbha and Telengana region. The people of Vidarbha are patiently waiting with immense faith in the party leadership that their demand would be considered favourably by the committee," he wrote.

"All the major political parties have joined this agitation wholeheartedly and I am afraid that if Congress party remains silent and non-committal on this crucial issue, we stand the risk to be politically isolated and losing a strong political bastion of Vidarbha to our rival political parties," he added.

"Ideally it was the duty of the state leadership to paint the correct picture before you but instead they have chosen to misinform the central party leadership by claiming that the demand is the personal agenda of a handful of local Congress leaders and therefore it should be dismissed," Muttemwar said.

In another letter to Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief Manikrao Thakre, the MP said that by asking Congressmen to refrain themselves from participating in the Vidarbha bandh call given by all parties on January 20, he has lost an opportunity to remain with Congress workers in Vidarbha though he hails from the region.

The people of Vidarbha especially Congress leaders and workers have defied Thakre's call and joined the bandh in large numbers to make it a grand success, Muttemwar said.

He called upon MPCC chief to take initiative and lead the delegation of Vidarbha Congress leaders who will shortly meet party president Sonia Gandhi in Delhi, the MP said in his letter to Thakre.