More than 300 Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP members were stopped at the border and sent back by Karnataka, while some of them were detained by Maharashtra police.
Belagavi: The Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute is still alive, and it has taken a political turn. More than 300 Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP members were stopped at the border and sent back by Karnataka, while some of them were detained by Maharashtra police.
Prior to the Karnataka Assembly’s winter session, Madhyavarti Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MMES) activists, a group that has been pushing the issue for more than 50 years, had organised sizable demonstrations.
Nana Patole, the president of the Maharashtra Congress, has blamed the Centre for the conflict and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “dividing” India.
The border issue has been taking place due to the central government. PM Modi wants to split Maharashtra. However, the chief ministers of both states had a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah. Why are leaders not allowed to go there? This makes it clear that the central government has been playing a game behind the scenes.
The chief ministers of both states have agreed not to bring up the decades-long state border dispute until the Supreme Court rules on it, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said last week after meeting with the two CMs.
However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde stated today that the issue is one of “Maharashtra’s pride” and that the state has taken a firm stance on it.
Mr Shinde stated that he has information from the police on who the villagers who want to join Karnataka are and “who is behind them.”
Karnataka maintains that the demarcation is final and no change is possible.
Seeing the huge protest, security has been beefed up in Belagavi. It is expected that over 4,000 police personnel, including six superintendents of police, 11 additional superintendents, 43 deputy superintendents, 95 police inspectors, and 241 police sub-inspectors, have been deployed to maintain law and order.
