Maharashtra Congress leader and former Katol MLA Ashish Deshmukh on Friday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealing him to form 75 smaller states as a gift to the nation on its 75th anniversary of independence. Deshmukh, who has been pitching for a separate Vidarbha state for a long time, said in terms of population, each state has an average of 4.90 crore people.
He said the states are too big in terms of the voice that a citizen has in representative democracy.
“The small states formed adjacent to the state of Maharashtra are progressing rapidly. However, a prosperous region like Vidarbha is still struggling for basic amenities. The newly established small neighboring states are experiencing diversified progress such as doubling per capita income, increased irrigation, health facilities, education, law and order, roads, tap water, living standards, abundant electricity, alternative employment,” he said.
“BJP’s policy has remained supportive for small states. Therefore, it is a humble request that the concept of 75@75 should be started with the formation of the 30th state of ‘Vidarbha’ and you should make an announcement in this regard through your speech/address to the nation on this 15th August,” Deshmukh said.
With inputs from News18
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