Maharashtra, Karnataka to form joint ministerial team to address border issue: Shah

PTI, Dec 15, 2022, 8:32 AM IST

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New Delhi: Stepping in to defuse the border tensions between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asked chief ministers of the two states to set up a six-member joint ministerial panel to address related issues and not make any claims till the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict on the dispute.

Shah also told Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his Karnataka counterpart Basavaraj Bommai that the border issue between the two states cannot be settled on the streets but only through constitutional means.

Shah had summoned the chief ministers of the two states after border tensions flared up last week leading to violence in Belgavi and adjoining regions of Karnataka which have a sizeable Marathi-speaking population.

“I had called chief minister of Karnataka, and chief minister and deputy chief minister of Maharashtra to resolve border disputes between the two states through constitutional means,” Shah told reporters here.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Karnataka Home Minister Araga Jnanendra were also present at the meeting.

Shah said the two chief ministers had agreed not to make any claims and counterclaims on the border issue till the Supreme Court decides on the matter.

“A team will be formed comprising three ministers from both sides to hold a detailed discussion on this issue and ensure that decisions which are taken are percolated at the ground level,” Shah said briefing reporters on the decisions taken at the meeting.

The Union home minister further said a committee under the chairmanship of an IPS officer will be formed to maintain law and order situation and ensure peaceful passage of people, transport and goods from one state to another state.

Shah said it had come to notice that fake tweets in the name of top leaders also escalated the issue and instigated the sentiments of people of both the states.

He said it has been decided to file an FIR in the matter related to the fake tweets.

Shinde had raised the issue of certain tweets allegedly made from an account of the Karnataka chief minister.

Fadnavis said Shinde also flagged the issue of Bommai “issuing directives” to Karnataka officers in Belgavi to “prevent the visit of ministers from Maharashtra” to the region.

Bommai clarified that the directives were given as there were apprehensions about a law and order situation in Belgavi as certain organizations were keen to capitalise on the tensions.

The Union home minister also appealed to opposition parties in both states against politicising the issue and wait for the Supreme Court judgment in this regard.

Fadnavis said the Maharashtra chief minister also urged Shah that the Centre should play a role of the facilitator in the resolution of the dispute and not appear to favour any particular state.

Fadnavis said there have been instances in the past when Karnataka had alleged that the Centre had favoured Maharashtra. He said Maharashtra too had claimed that an affidavit filed by the Centre in the Supreme Court in 2014 appeared to favour Karnataka.

He said during the meeting both the chief ministers had not budged from their respective stands and agreed to resolve the matter in the court.

Shah called the chief ministers of the two states after violence flared up in the border region where Maharashtra has staked claim on 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka.

Of late, Karnataka too has staked claims to south Solapur and Akkalkote regions of Maharashtra, that have a sizeable Kannada speaking population.

The Karnataka-Maharashtra border row escalated into violence after vehicles from both states were attacked and damaged in Belgaon and Pune last week.

Since its creation on May 1, 1960, Maharashtra has claimed that 865 villages, including Belgaon (now Belgavi), Karwar and Nippani, should be merged into Maharashtra. Karnataka, however, has refused to part with its territory.