Vidarbha: Sathe set to quit Cong

In a move that could realign Maharashtra politics, two former Union ministers Vasant Sathe and N.K.P. Salve are planning to quit the Congres...

In a move that could realign Maharashtra politics, two former Union ministers Vasant Sathe and N.K.P. Salve are planning to quit the Congress and form a new political party tomorrow.

Vidarbha Rajya Nirman Congress is to be launched in Nagpur, but Salve himself will stay away from the launch “for health reasons”. The party would fight for a separate statehood for Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, which has 28 MLAs and 11 Lok Sabha seats.

Sathe told The Indian Express they were forced to take the step because of the Congress high command’s “apathy” towards the demand for a separate Vidarbha state and refusal to create a separate PCC for it. This has put the Congress in a spot as a demand for separate Telengana is already hanging fire in Andhra where four party MLAs had recently resigned from the Assembly.

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AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharastra Vayalar Ravi said, ‘‘The two issues of separate statehood for Vidarbha and Telengana have to be dealt together. The Congress has decided that any discussion on these would take place only after the coming assembly polls.”

Ravi also said that Sathe and others have been told about the party decision. However, Sathe says: ‘‘We want to know how heeding our demands would affect the party in the polls?’’ He adds that Sonia would remain his leader even if he quits the Congress.

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