Border dispute raised in legislatures of Maharashtra, Karnataka

PTI, Dec 21, 2022, 8:16 AM IST

Nagpur: Opposition parties in Maharashtra on Tuesday targeted the Karnataka government in the state Assembly over the alleged ill-treatment being meted out to Marathi-speaking people, while the legislature of the neighbouring state reiterated that no land would be ceded to Maharashtra.

The border dispute between the two states is on the boil once again for the last few weeks.

Raising the issue in the Maharashtra Assembly during the ongoing winter session in Nagpur, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Jayant Patil said a lathi (baton) was raised at his party colleague and legislator Hasan Mushrif on Monday when he visited Belagavi to meet the Marathi-speaking people there.

Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said the issue was very sensitive to everyone.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that for the first time the Centre has intervened which is a positive step.

The long-pending border dispute between the two states flared up again on Monday when members of Opposition parties- Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress, and NCP – from Maharashtra were stopped from entering Karnataka by the police.

They were to attend a gathering organised by the pro-Maharashtra group Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES).

In Belagavi, where the Karnataka legislature is holding its session, both the Houses will be passing a resolution on the border dispute.

The Karnataka legislature reiterated the state’s stand that the issue had been settled long ago and not an inch of land will be given to Maharashtra.

During a debate, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai himself suggested passing a unanimous resolution in both Houses reiterating and asserting the stand.

Members of all political parties including Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah agreed.

Initiating the debate, Siddaramaiah said there is no question of any dispute, and the border issue is already settled with the Mahajan Commission report.

With him recently attending a meeting of Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra, called by Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently, drawing some criticism from the Opposition Congress, Bommai said, “There is no ambiguity or confusion” and that he has reiterated the State’s stand very clearly at the meeting, without any dilution.

Siddaramaiah had earlier said the Chief Minister should not have gone to a meeting called by the Union Home Minister, because Maharashtra wants to project that there is a border dispute, to keep the issue alive, and to use it politically.

Also, the Chief Minister should not have accepted the proposal for constituting a committee consisting of three Ministers each from both the States.

Reacting to this, Bommai said the meeting of Chief Ministers convened by the Union Home Minister was regarding law and order, and in a federal set-up “we had to attend the meeting, where our State’s stand was clearly put forward.” “Home Minister in the meeting said the solution for this issue can be only through Constitutional and legal means as the case is before the Supreme Court, it cannot be settled on the streets, and peace should be maintained at all cost,” he said, adding that the Ministerial committee from both sides is to maintain peace and to resolve smaller issues between the two States.

The row had intensified in the last couple of weeks, with vehicles from either side being targeted, leaders from both the States weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists being detained by police amid a tense atmosphere in Belagavi.

The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of States on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.

Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.