Prakash Ambedkar hopes Vidarbha bandh on January 20 will shake Delhi

Expressing confidence that the proposed Vidarbha bandh on January 20 for demanding separate Vidarbha state will be successful, Bharip Bahaujan Mahasangh leader, former MP Prakash Ambedkar today said it would send a strong message to leadership in Delhi as well.
    
Responding to reports that the bandh may not get response in areas dominated by Shiv Sena in western Vidarbha, Ambedkar told newsmen today that in both Amravati and Buldana, where Sena has some presence, bandh will be total.
    
He criticised the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Manikrao Thakre's stand on separate Vidarbha issue and said people this time will not succumb to such pressure tactics.
    
The call for bandh has been given by all parties and no individual is leading the agitation.It is the people of the region who want separate Vidarbha, he said.
   
"After the proposed January 20 bandh, leaders from various political parties will proceed to Delhi to convince the central leadership over statehood to Vidarbha before the budget session of Parliament during which Telenagana issue is likely to be settled", Ambedkar said.
    
Quoting his grandfather late Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the father of Constitution, Ambedkar said, "Babasaheb had favoured creation of five states within Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh in those days".