Border row: Maharashtra delegation meeting Shah won't make any difference, says CM Bommai
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said that the Maharashtra delegation meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the raging border dispute between both states will not make any difference, and asserted that his government will not make any compromise on the issue.
Bommai said that he has asked a delegation of Karnataka Members of Parliament to meet Shah on Monday regarding the border issue, and that he would also be soon meeting the Union Home Minister to inform him about the state's "legitimate" stand.
A delegation of parliamentarians of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (opposition coalition in Maharashtra) had met Shah on Friday regarding the border dispute with Karnataka.
"Maharashtra delegation meeting the Union Home Minister will not make any difference. Maharashtra has tried this in the past too. The case is in the Supreme Court. Our legitimate case in the Supreme Court is strong. Our government will not make any compromise on the border issue," Bommai tweeted late on Friday night.
"I have asked Karnataka MPs to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday regarding the Karnataka Maharashtra border issue. I will also be meeting the Union Home Minister soon to inform him about the state's legitimate stand," he added.
After the meeting on Friday, NCP leader Amol Kolhe, who was part of Maharashtra's delegation, had said that Shah will meet chief ministers of both states on December 14 to soothe tempers on the border dispute.
The border row had intensified earlier this week, with vehicles from either sides being targeted, leaders from both states weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists being detained by police amid a tense atmosphere in the border district of Belagavi.
Following this, the Karnataka and Maharashtra Chief Ministers spoke to each other over phone and agreed that there should be peace and law and order should be maintained on both sides.
The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines.
Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
And, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka has built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of legislature in Bengaluru, and a legislature session is held there annually.
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Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th Saudi Pro League goal
Riyadh (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th Saudi Pro League goal as Al-Nassr beat Al-Shabab 4-2 to move five points clear at the top of the table.
The 41-year-old forward converted a Sadio Mané cross at the near post with 15 minutes remaining to record the 971st goal of his career on Thursday. It was also his 26th league goal of the season.
“Ronaldo is always dangerous going forward and we saw that again today,” Al-Nassr coach Jorge Jesus said.
João Félix, signed from Chelsea in July, scored three goals for the league leaders.
The win took Al-Nassr to 82 points from 32 games, five ahead of Al-Hilal, which has three matches, one more than Nassr, left to play. Al-Hilal meets Al-Kholood on Friday and faces Nassr on Tuesday in what could be a title decider against its Riyadh rival.
“Now we have a derby match against our rival, which is a difficult encounter,” Jesus said.
“We are fully aware of its importance, and we are dealing with it with complete focus as we know that small details could decide the result.”
Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has yet to secure a major trophy in Saudi Arabia since signing with Al-Nassr in December 2022.
