Mumbai: RSS ideologue M G Vaidya has said that four states can be carved out of Maharashtra for better administrative purposes and suggested formation of a new state reorganisation commission to look into the matter.
Vaidya mooted the idea in the backdrop of Srihari Aney's resignation as Advocate General of Maharashtra after his remarks favouring a separate Marathwada sparked a huge controversy, with opposition Congress-NCP and ruling ally Shiv Sena crying foul over it.
At an event in Jalna district of Marathwada on Sunday, Aney had said, "Marathwada bore more injustice than Vidarbha and should therefore be independent. Pressure has to be put at the Delhi level to form a separate state as the demand does not come under the purview of Mumbai."
The BJP in the state also distanced itself from views of Aney, who had earlier called for a referendum on the question of a separate Vidarbha state.
"A new state organising commission should be formed that should be looking to fulfil two conditions. First, a state's population should not be more than 30 million and second, it should not be less than 5 million," Vaidya said.
"If we consider the formula, four states can be carved out of Maharashtra. The present conditions are not suitable for administrative purposes. Even the RSS has four 'praant' (provinces) in Maharashtra, while it has six in Uttar Pradesh for administrative purposes," he added.
Vaidya said a state's formation should not happen after violent agitations by the people, which should be done before any agitation.
He said that while some states have high population density, others like Sikkim (around 10 lakh), Andhra Pradesh (around 14 lakh) have low density which creates instability.
"There are states like Jharkhand, Odisha, Punjab and Chhattisgarh which have a population of around 30 million and are doing well," he said.
"Similarly, if there are four states carved out of Maharashtra, all of them can be Marathi speaking states. For purpose of administration and interest of people, states can be divided," he said.
Vaidya said if Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeks his opinion, he will convey his views to him.
"I have also heard BJP is in favour of smaller states," he said.
