Shiv sena president Uddhav Thackeray Sunday issued a veiled threat to the BJP against creation of separate Vidarbha state by bifurcating Maharashtra. “We will never allow division of Maharahstra. If required, we will lay down our lives to keep the state united,” Thackeray said at a function held near Mumbai airport to mark the Maharashtra Day. Both the Sena and the BJP held separate functions on the statehood day to strengthen their mass connect ahead of the 2017 Mumbai civic body polls. [related-post] At various programmes organised by the BJP, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said Maharashtra would be drought-free by the year 2019, spelling out the government’s agenda of development for Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra. The Congress and the NCP appeared to confine themselves to their own constituencies and districts on Maharashtra Day. In 1960, Maharashtra was formally declared a separate state, with Mumbai as its capital. On this day every year, floral tributes are paid to the 106 martyrs who laid down their lives during the “Samyukta Maharashtra” agitation. Speaking at the Sena event Sunday, Thackeray evoked the separate Vidarbha issue to take on the BJP. The party had put up a huge hoarding with a photograph of the late supremo Bal Thackeray and a map of Maharashtra in the backdrop. “We are committed to keeping the unity of Maharashtra intact,” the message on the hoarding read. The Sena’s decision to rake up the issue comes at a time when former advocate general Shrihari Aney, along with several smaller groups, are demanding separate Vidarbha state. The BJP, which has in-principle supported the smaller states theory, has however not taken any firm stand on the Vidarbha issue at the moment. WATCH INDIAN EXPRESS VIDEOS HERE
