Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 28: With Maharashtra and Karnataka hurling abuses at each, the border row between the two BJP-ruled sates have reached a flashpoint amidst the two State Assemblies adopting unanimous resolutions “not to cede an inch of land” to the other state.
In an apparent response to the Karnataka chief minister Basavraj Bommai’s angry outbursts on Tuesday proclaiming that his state won’t give an inch of the disputed territory to Maharashtra and instead demanding some Kannada-speaking areas to be assimilated in Karnataka, the Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday told the state’s Legislative Council that not an inch of the land from the disputed 865 villages would be ceded to the neighbouring state and his government would pursue all legal avenues to prevent injustice against the Marathi speaking people.
Addressing the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Mr Shinde said, “Karnataka should not challenge us as we will not give up an inch of the land in the 865 (disputed) villages, including Belgavi, Nipani, Karwar, Bidar and Bhalki. We will pursue whatever legal recourse that is available to us. We will seek the intervention of the Supreme Court and the central government and do everything in our power to prevent injustice to our Marathi-speaking people.”
Earlier, on Tuesday, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on the dispute with Karnataka over border areas saying the state will legally pursue the inclusion of 865 Marathi-speaking villages that are in Karnataka. Reacting to it, Bommai said “not an inch of land will be ceded to Maharashtra” and that the state is confident of getting justice, as the states were carved out on the basis of the States Reorganisation Act 1956.
Amid the row, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray demanded that the ‘disputed areas’ should be declared a Union Territory to which the Karnataka law and parliamentary affairs minister J.C. Madhuswamy’s quickly responded suggesting that Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra, and India’s financial capital, be declared Union Territory.
The resolution passed by the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday said the state would fight the pending case in the Supreme Court with full strength for the inclusion of each and every inch of the 865 villages that it lays claim to. They include Belgavi, Karwar, Nipani, and Bidar Bhalki in Maharashtra. The resolution also condemned the Karnataka administration for ‘its anti-Marathi stand’ in the border areas.
The Maharashtra assembly resolution came days after Karnataka Assembly passed a unanimous resolution last week over the Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue and condemned statements made by some Maharashtra ministers on the issue. The resolution said legal action would be taken against any minister if they continue to make statements over the issue.
Uddhav Thackeray, who spoke to the reporters on Tuesday in Nagpur, demanded that the ‘disputed areas’ be declared a Union Territory. He said the party supported the resolution in the Maharashtra Assembly. “Whatever happens in favour of Maharashtra, we will support it. But there are some questions. For over two years, people (living in border areas) have been demanding that their areas be included in Maharashtra. What are we doing about that?” Thackeray asked.
“Today government replied that the disputed area cannot be declared as a Union Territory as said by Supreme Court in 2008. However, the situation is not the same now. The Karnataka government is not following it. They are doing an Assembly session there and has renamed Belagavi. So we should go to Supreme Court and urge it to declare it as UT,” he said.
Hitting out at Karnataka law minister remark about Mumbai be declared a Union Territory, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, the Kannada-speaking population in Mumbai has never been ill-treated. “Unlike the oppression of the Marathi-speaking population in Belagavi or the border districts in Karnataka, the Kannada-speaking population in Mumbai City has never been ill-treated. Mumbai has always been welcoming and giving respect to people from all over the country, be it U.P. or West Bengal,” he said.
Mr. Raut further added, “Because of the continued oppression of the Marathi-speaking population in Belagavi for more than 70 years, we have demanded the district be brought under centre’s rule.”
Since late November, Bommai has been stirring the political cauldron after first remarking that his BJP government was “seriously considering” a resolution to include Jat taluk in western Maharashtra’s Sangli district. After an irate reaction by the Opposition MVA, Maharashtra Deputy CM and State BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis said there was no question of the State ceding an inch of land to Karnataka. Following this, Mr. Bommai upped the ante by stating that Solapur city and Akkalkot (in Solapur district) ought to part of Karnataka as well.
Amid the border row between the two States, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the Chief Ministers of both States and asked them to not claim any territory or make any demands till the Supreme Court gives its verdict. But within days, Karnataka, which is going to the polls next year, violated the understanding with Bommai government flexing muscles and the Shinde government responding to it as ‘tit-for-tat.’