Stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was never against the idea of a separate Vidarbha, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said that he, along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, would try to create the separate state.

Gadkari was speaking during a public discussion on the topic, 'Politics of Development', which was also attended by former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. Gadkari made it clear that while Modi had said that he would not allow Maharashtra to be broken in to pieces, the statement was with reference to separating Mumbai from Maharashtra, and had nothing to do with Vidarbha. Gadkari added that he had had a talk with Modi after Modi made the statement in Nagpur while campaigning for the elections.

It was Gadkari who had advocated a separate Vidarbha during the Lok Sabha elections campaign. He had given the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti in writing that if the BJP comes to power, it would create a separate state of Vidarbha. He made it clear that BJP had never changed its stance on the matter, and would not do so in the future either.

While replying to a question on Local Body Tax (LBT), Gadkari said that it would be abolished, but refused to elaborate on the same. Refusing to divulge the ways and means through which it will be done, he merely said, "You will not see LBT after one month."

On the Shiv Sena, the union minister said that BJP was of the view that the Sena should be part of the state government. However, while speaking to media persons in New Delhi, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the Sena would like to be sit in the Opposition. In a related development, Gadkari and Fadnavis, who also was in Nagpur, met up with each other. Sources say that the meeting was based on several issues, including Cabinet expansion in the state.