RSS ideologue M G Vaidya

NAGPUR: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue M G Vaidya has said that Maharashtra , among the country's biggest states by area and population, could be divided into "three to four parts".

Vaidya was talking to a news channel here on Saturday.

"It is my opinion that if population of Maharashtra is around 11-12 crore, then it can be divided into three to four parts," Vaidya, a former RSS spokesperson, said.

Spread over 307,713 square kms, the state is the third largest in area after Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh .

Its population of 11.2 crore, as per Census 2011, is the second highest after Uttar Pradesh 's 19.9 crore.

Vaidya had expressed the same opinion in 2016 as well, at the time claiming the ideal population of a state was "three crore" and to achieve this, smaller states needed to be formed.