Maharashtra govt reconstitutes committee to resolve border dispute with Karnataka
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has reconstituted the high-powered committee to resolve the state’s border dispute with neighbouring Karnataka.
According to a government resolution (GR) issued on Thursday, the committee, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, was reconstituted because crucial decisions regarding the border dispute need to be taken with consensus by a non-partisan and representative body.
From time to time, the committee has been reconstituted as new governments took office. A similar exercise had been carried out on November 22, 2022, months after the then Mahayuti alliance took charge with Eknath Shinde as the chief minister.
The committee has now been reconstituted following the formation of the new government, with Fadnavis as the CM, after last year’s assembly polls.
Fadnavis heads the 18-member committee, which also includes his deputies Shinde and Ajit Pawar and former CMs Narayan Rane, Sharad Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan.
NCP (SP) MLAs Rohit Patil and Jayant Patil, ministers Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Prakash Abitkar, Suresh Khade, BJP legislators Sudhir Gadgil, Sachin Kalyan Shetty, leaders of opposition in the legislative assembly and council are among the other members of the committee.
The Maharashtra assembly currently does not have a leader of opposition. Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress legislators do not figure in the high-powered committee.
The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra sought to include Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are currently in Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
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AIITA welcomes Karnataka’s ban on obscene songs in school events
Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.
AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.
“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.
He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.
“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.
According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.
In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.
AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.
