'Mumbai a Union Territory'? Prakash Ambedkar alleges conspiracy in govt-formation delay

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar on Thursday claimed that there was a conspiracy to divide Maharashtra into three parts. Elaborating on this, he alleged that Mumbai would be made a Union Territory while Vidarbha and the rest of Maharashtra would be carved into separate states. Furthermore, Ambedkar stated that these attempts could be defeated only through a people’s movement. 

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Prakash Ambedkar remarked, “I think that this is a mockery of the government that we are now going to form the government, we are going to form the government on December 1, December 10, there will be a government before the new year. This is a drama. The reason for this drama is that we have learnt that there is a conspiracy to divide Maharashtra into three parts. Here, there are talks about making Mumbai a Union Territory. There is a talk of Vidarbha being made a separate state and the rest of Maharashtra would be converted into a new state. We have put this before the people because there are fast developments on this front. If we have to stop it, it can be done only through a people’s movement. That’s why we are telling the Congress party- whether you strike with Shiv Sena or not, this has to be revealed first."

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The struggle for government formation 

Since none of the major political parties could garner enough numbers for government formation, President's Rule was imposed in Maharashtra on November 12. Hectic parlays have been going on in the NCP, Shiv Sena, and Congress camps to forge a post-poll alliance in the state. Sources also indicated that a formula has been worked out whereby the Sena would get the CM’s post for 5 years. However, all three parties would have ministers proportionate to their strength in the Maharashtra assembly. On Thursday, Prithviraj Chavan of the Congress informed the media that on Friday, there would be another meeting of his party, NCP and their smaller allies in Mumbai. After the conclusion of this meeting, discussions would be held with Shiv Sena. 

(With ANI inputs) 

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