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Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray demanded that Belagavi, a city in Karnataka bordering Maharashtra, should be declared a Union Territory, drawing a jibe from Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who called Thackeray’s statement “childish”.
“It’s a childish statement. The Mahajan (Commission) report is final. So, neither should we ask for anything and nor should they. How can it be declared as Union Territory? And, if Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) protests, will we keep quiet?” Siddaramaiah told reporters on Monday.
Thackeray on Monday alleged that injustice was being meted out to Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi and demanded that the region be declared a Union Territory.
He said while celebrations were on over the formation of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, the situation was “deteriorating” in Belagavi.
As the winter session of the Karnataka Assembly began on Monday, members of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti were opposing it. The outfit organised a congregation in Belagavi, but the Karnataka government reportedly prohibited the gathering and banned leaders from Maharashtra from entering the state.
WHAT IS THE BELAGAVI DISPUTE?
The Belagavi border issue dates back to 1957 when states were reorganised on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population, and over 800 Marathi-speaking border villages that are currently a part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains that the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report is final.
To assert that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, the Karnataka government built the ‘Suvarna Vidhana Soudha’ here, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the state Legislature and Secretariat in Bengaluru.
(with inputs from PTI)
