NAGPUR, June 1: An all-party public meeting which included four senior BJP leaders unanimously passed a resolution condemning Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray for his `rabid anti-Vidarbha' stand.While BJP MP Banwarilal Purohit took on the Shiv Sena over the issue of a separate Vidarbha, Congress MP Datta Meghe promised to defy his party's whip, if need be, to vote in favour of a pro-Vidarbha bill likely to come up before Parliament in its monsoon session.The two Lok Sabha members were among a host of leaders participating in the meeting at Nagpur on Saturday evening to rejuvenate the statehood movement.The meet was organised under the banner of the Sarva Pakshiya Vidarbha Rajya Sangharsha Manch to felicitate Banwarilal Purohit for tabling a private members' bill seeking statehood for Vidarbha. The bill has already received Presidential consent and Lok Sabha Speaker P A Sangma has assured Purohit of bringing it before the next session of the Parliament.Seizing this opportunity, several pro-Vidarbha organisations called together leaders of the Congress, BJP, Janata Dal, RPI and Samata Party to build the mood for a coordinated struggle.First the BJP and of late, the Congress have attempted to take the issue to the people but have been unable to launch a mass movement in the real sense. The reason for this, as one member of the audience at today's meet stood up to point out, has been the repeated breach of faith committed by pro-Vidarbha leaders in the past. ``All of you just make hollow speeches to gain votes but never really care to involve the masses in the movement,'' he charged the leaders on the dais, interrupting Purohit's speech.The reaction his outburst received from others was enough to drive the point home. The leaders nodded their heads as one and Purohit thumped his chest, proclaiming that if this was the kind of fire in the heart of the common man, the agitation was destined to succeed.It was for the first time that he openly took on Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray for his anti-Vidarbha stand. In election meetings before the May 1996 Lok Sabha polls, Purohit had repeatedly assured that he needed ``not more than an hour's time ''to transform the Sena chief's thinking in favour of statehood for Vidarbha. A couple of weeks ago, the Sena mouthpiece Saamna had published an editorial blasting Purohit for his attempts to break the state of Maharashtra.The content and the language of the editorial prompted Purohit to overlook his party's delicate relationship with the Sena and come out openly against Thackeray. ``Soon we will be able to warn Thackeray against stepping out of Mumbai,'' he thundered.He was all praise for the Congress MP from Ramtek and his one-time rival for the Nagpur seat, Meghe. ``We had both submitted bills in Parliament for Vidarbha's statehood. When we met, we decided that regardless of whose bill gets introduced first, we would both support it. Even otherwise, we have been working in tandem in the House on questions regarding Vidarbha,'' said Purohit.Meghe endorsed this and said he was even prepared to defy the party whip and be sacked when it came to voting on Purohit's bill. ne-p¬Ut›ð8¼Tt›ncede the race to Sharad Yadav in the interest of the party.The Dal's Rajya Sabha member, R K Yadav Ravi, also a member of the party's national executive, said that Laloo Yadav should honour the sentiments of the partymen and withdraw his candidature. Laloo loyalists, however, are continuing with their signature campaign in support of holding national convention at Patna while mobilising efforts to challenge the high court order restraining . Ram Kirpal Yadav, Lok Sabha member and a close associate of Laloo said that the memorandum containing signatures of about 18 MPs had not only supported holding of national council session Patna but also pledged their support to the Janata Dal president for whatever decision he would take.
