Belagavi braces for session, MES for Mahamelava on November 13

Belagavi: As soon as the state government announced that the winter session of the state legislature will be held in Belagavi from November 13, pro-Maharashtra groups headed by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) on Saturday declared that a pro-Maharashtra session would be held on the inaugural day on November 13 in Belagavi. 

The demand for merger of Belagavi with Maharashtra will be the main resolution that will be passed in the parallel session, which pro-Maharashtra outfits call Mahamelava. Prior to Mahamelava, MES decided to observe Karnataka Rajyotsava on November 1 as “Black Day”, condemning the merger of Marathi-majority areas on the border with Karnataka during the re-organisation of states. 

The decision to observe November 1 as “Black Day” and Mahamelava on November 13 was taken at a meeting of the office-bearers of MES in Belagavi.

However, many leaders in Belagavi call the anti-Karnataka events announced by MES as an attempt to spoil the cordial relations between Kannadigas and Marathi-speaking people on border areas. 

Many Kannada organizations, which held a meeting in Belagavi on Saturday, urged the government to prevent such events from taking place calling them anti-Karnataka and against the state’s larger interests.

President of the MES Deepak Dalvi has decided to invite some well-known pro-Marathi leaders from Maharashtra to the Mahamelava. 

Several groups of MES will tour parts of Maharashtra and villages in Belagavi region to ensure a large assembly of people for the Mahamelava. 

So far, MES has not announced the venue for Mahamelava but plans to hold it either at the Vaccine Depot ground or Lele Ground in Tilakwadi.

Top MES leaders, including Khanapur MLA Aravind Patil, former MLAs Maloji Ashtekar and Manohar Kinekar, attended the meeting.