BHUBANESWAR (PTI): The national executive of the Right wing BJP has unanimously decided to take up the issue of formation of a separate “Vidarbha state” comprising nine districts in West Indian state of Maharashtra as demanded by the party’s state unit.

The executive who concluded its three day meeting here Nov.8 with a directive to its party workers to be prepared for midterm polls also severely criticized the Narasimha Rao government at the Center for its “utter failure and mismanagement on the political and economic front.”

The BJP leaders who did not rule out the possibility of a snap poll said that such an election if held should be taken as a referendum on the Ayodhya issue the nature of Indian nationalism and the genuine meaning of secularism.

The representatives particularly those from the southern states criticized the Rao government for being “immersed neck deep in a quagmire of corruption” party sources said. Ayodhya however formed the core of the discussions during the meeting with the party hardening its stand on the issue the sources said.

The BJP was prepared to sacrifice its government in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh for the cause the sources added.

The executive also proposed to undertake a “Yatra” covering all the northeastern states to highlight the problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh the sources said.

Article extracted from this publication >> November 20, 1992