MUMBAI/BANGALORE, JULY 13
The border row between Maharashtra and Karnataka over Belgaum flared up today with Chief Minister Ashok Chavan asking the Centre to declare 865 Marathi speaking villages in Karnataka as a Union territory and Shiv Sena backing the demand.
Simultaneously, the Maharashtra assembly adopted a resolution voicing displeasure over the Centre’s affidavit in the Supreme Court on its boundary row.
The demand by Chavan came even as government buses of Maharashtra and Karnataka continued to be targeted over the vexed Belgaum issue, forcing the authorities to stop inter-State services for a couple of days.
During a discussion on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border row in the legislative council, Chavan said “the 865 Marathi speaking villages in Karnataka should be declared as a Union territory until the issue is settled in the Supreme Court.”
Chavan, who would be meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow in Delhi with an all-party delegation, said he would make this request to him.
“There is no option other than making the villages Union Territory and we would request the PM to cooperate with us on the issue,” he said in Mumbai.
Throwing his weight behind Chavan’s demand, Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray wanted Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka like Belgaum, Nipani, Karwar, Bidar and Bhalki to be made an Union territory till the border row case is settled in Supreme Court.
Central security forces should be deployed in these areas, he said.
Karnataka said Belgaum was and will be part of it and accused the Maharashtra government of raking up the border issue for political gains.
(Earlier report on page 9)
Chavan while referring to the application filed by his government to amend its lawsuit in the Supreme Court said some basic principles like wishes of the people and linguistic criteria had not been followed while transferring the disputed villages to Karnataka.
The Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue also figured in the legislative assembly leading to two adjournments of the lower house.
The long-pending dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka over Belgaum got revived after the Centre’s affidavit in the Supreme Court last week that the areas sought by Maharashtra could not become part of it just because most of the people there spoke Marathi.
Karnataka declined to respond to Chavan’s Union territory demand, asserting “There is no need to comment on it.”
“When the Centre itself has filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court on the Maharastra contention on boundary dispute, why should we speak?”, State Home Minister Dr V S Acharya told reporters in Bangalore.
“Belgaum remains part of Karnataka. The issue has already been resolved by the Mahajan Commission report”.
Minister for Water Resources Basavaraj Bommai, also the minister in-charge of Belgaum district, said Belgaum was an integral part of Karnataka and ruled out any dialogue with Maharastra on the issue.
