Replying to MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s bitter comment on him on Friday, former spokesperson of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), M.G. Vaidya (93), reaffirmed his stand to divide Maharashtra into four states. Mr Vaidya, who was addressing a function in Nagpur on Saturday, reiterated his stand of formation of small states and added that though small states would be carved out of Maharashtra, the language of all these states would be the same i.e. Marathi.
“Everybody has freedom of speech and accordingly, I took the stand of small states,” he said. He even assured the audience that he would complete his century if Mr Raj did not send goons to kill him. He said that he wanted to celebrate his 100th birthday with the people.
Mr Thackeray, during his speech at Shivaji Park on Friday on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, had taken a swipe at Mr Vaidya saying that a person who was on the verge of being separated from the human world was talking about separation of the state. “Jinaka Prithvi se alag hone ka time aya hai, ve alag rajya ki baat kar rahe hai,” the MNS chief had said about the veteran leader. He had lashed out at Mr Vaidya for his demand for four separate states to be carved out of Maharashtra.
Earlier, Mr Vaidya had stated that Maharashtra should be divided into Vidarbha, Marathwada including Khandesh, Konkan and western Maharashtra. The former RSS spokesperson had also said that there was need for a State Reorganisation Commission, and that each state should have a population of not more than 50 lakh and even if new states were formed, their language would remain Marathi only.
Without naming the Shiv Sena, who has opposed the demand for a separate Vidarbha, Mr Vaidya had questioned as to what was more important — the ego or providing facilities to people. People will get easy access to government headquarters if the states are small, he had said.
