Pro-Maharashtra outfits misleading people: Raj Thackeray

Belagavi: While Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is hesitant to take action against the Belagavi mayor and two MES MLAs who observed Rajyotsava as Black Day in Belagavi on November 1, in a short video clip which is viral on social media, chief of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray has said that if he was Chief Minister of Maharashtra and a Black Day like this was observed in the state, he would have chased and beaten up those who observed Black Day like this.

A video-clipping of an interview given by Thackeray to a Marathi TV channel slamming pro-Maharashtra outfits in Karnataka, is making the rounds on Whatsapp for the past two days. The clipping have come up at a time when pro-Kannada outfits have intensified their agitation demanding superseding of Belagavi City Corporation over the Black Day events organised by MES. Legislators of the outfit,  Sambhaji Patil and Arvind Patil and mayor Sarita Patil took part in it demanding merger of Belagavi with Maharashtra.

Without naming any outfit, Mr Thackeray sarcastically said they (pro-Maharashtra outfits from Belagavi) come to Maharashtra when problems crop up in Belagavi and meet him. After taking blessings at Ashtavinayaka (a temple) in Mumbai, they all head back to Belagavi, he said.

The outfits should wait peacefully for the Supreme Court to announce its verdict on the boundary dispute between the two states. “I suggest that they provide information about the boundary row to lawyers of Maharashtra who are arguing in the Supreme Court. Instead of doing that, attempts are being made by leaders (of MES) to mislead people here. A fight over the boundary between the two states is going on for last 56 years and there is not likely to be an early solution. Some people are using the issue for their personal gain,” he said.

To counter pro-Maharashtra outfits, several Kannada organizations announced in Belagavi on Friday that a ‘Mahamelava' of Kannadigas will be organised in Maharashtra shortly. The organisations decided to hold a rally prior to the melava (convention) at Kolhapur or Solapur on October 28.