Maharashtra ministers\' visit to Belagavi not appropriate: Karnataka CM Bommai
Belagavi (Karnataka): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Friday said that the state chief secretary has asked her counterpart of Maharashtra not to visit Belagavi in view of the current situation between the two states over the border dispute.
"In view of the current situation between the two states over the border dispute, it is not advisable for the Maharashtra ministers to visit Belegavi," Karnataka Chief Secretary conveyed this through a fax message.
Reacting to the reports of Maharashtra ministers planning to visit Belagavi on December 6, the CM told reporters in Ramdurga on Friday.
CM Bommai while talking to the reports in Ramdurga said, "It is not appropriate for them to come when there is such a situation between the two states. We have already sent the message not to come. We will take the same action as the Government of Karnataka has taken when such attempts have been made several times in the past."
Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai's visit to Belagavi in Karnataka to address the Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue has been postponed to December 6.
Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai have been appointed as coordinating ministers for the Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue.
Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai's visit to Belagavi in Karnataka to address the Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue has been postponed to December 6.
The meeting was scheduled to be held on December 3.
On the request of the Belagavi Ambedkar organization, their visit has been postponed and both will arrive in Belagavi on December 6, on the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar.
Belgaum or Belagavi is currently part of Karnataka but is claimed by Maharashtra.
After the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute escalated, many untoward incidents took place in Belagavi.
During a cultural program in Belagavi's Gogate College earlier, a student who danced with the Kannada flag was beaten up by his classmates, creating a tense atmosphere.
Yesterday, pro-Kannada organizations staged a roadblock on the highway in Belagavi. They set fire to tires and shouted slogans against Maharashtra. At present, the situation there is like an ash-covered pit.
As per media reports, the long-running Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute started back in 1953, after the Maharashtra government objected to the inclusion of 865 villages including Belagavi.
The villages are spread across Belagavi and the north-western and north-eastern regions of Karnataka - all bordering Maharashtra.
After the implementation of the State Reorganization Act, of 1956, the Maharashtra government demanded the readjustment of its border with Karnataka.
Following this, a four-member committee was formed by both states. Maharashtra government had expressed willingness to transfer Kannada-speaking 260 villages predominantly, but it was turned down by Karnataka. Now, both Karnataka and Maharashtra governments have approached the Supreme Court to expedite the matter, and the matter is still pending.
