Bengaluru : Amid the raging border controversy buses and lorries coming under attack in sporadic incidents in both Karnataka and Maharashtra, the path of dialogue took centre stage with Maharashtra BJP leader and deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis calling up Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai and discuss in what appears to be coordinated effort by BJP central leadership to douse the fire.
Karnataka CM Bommai said his state did not intend to create a new controversy. ” I said there will be reactions on both sides and therrefore, we must not disturb the cordial relationship between the two states,” he said. “The SC seized of the matter and we are confident of winning this legal battle. Our government is committed to protecting our border and our people, and taking care of Kannadigas living in Maharashtra, Telangana and Kerala ” he added.
Meanwhile, according to report Sena activists were detained while tring to cross over to Karnataka, As a precautionary measure, the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation stopped by services from play to Karnataka. The Karnataka police stepped up vigil along with border, with over thousand police personnel deployed to avoid any untoward incidents.
Meantime Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader sanjay Raut demanded Belagavi and surrounding Marathi-speaking areas along the Karnataka-Maharashtra border be declared as a Union Territory.
Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra had laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency as it has a sizable Marathi-speaking population. Bommai recently sought a merger of “Kannada-speaking” areas in Maharashtra’s Akkalkot and Solapur and had also said some villages in Jat taluka in Sangli district wanted to join the southern state.
