How will govt that tolerates insult to Shivaji ensure justice for Marathi people in Belgaum: Raut
Mumbai, Nov 22 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday asked how will the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government which tolerates "insult" to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj ensure justice for the Marathi-speaking population of Belgaum and other border areas.
Talking to reporters in New Delhi, his first visit to the national capital after he got out on bail in an alleged money laundering case, he also asked how many times Shinde and BJP minister Chandrakant Patil had visited Belgaum in Karnataka.
Chief Minister Shinde was reportedly going to raise the issue of Belgaum with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raut said, demanding that the conversation between the two be made public.
"Neither Chandrakant Patil nor Eknath Shinde visited Belgaum as ministers. The Karnataka CM should be asked to withdraw the false cases registered against the youth in border areas," the Rajya Sabha MP added.
Maharashtra has a long-pending border dispute with Karnataka since the formation of the state when some areas with sizable Marathi-speaking population, like Belgaum, were included in Karnataka.
"How will this chief minister, deputy chief minister and the government who tolerate an insult to Shivaji Maharaj give any justice to the people of the border areas," Raut, a key leader of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, further asked.
He was apparently referring to the recent controversial remark of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an icon of "olden days".
On Monday, Shinde and Deputy Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting to discuss the Belgaum issue.
The government also appointed ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai to coordinate with the legal team which is handling the litigation related to Maharashtra-Karnataka dispute in the Supreme Court.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that his government had made all preparations to argue its case in the apex court.
Raut said the Karnataka government was more alert about the border dispute.
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TN polls: TVK pushes DMK behind with leads in 83 seats, AIADMK ahead in 54
Chennai (PTI): New entrant TVK, led by actor-politician Vijay, was leading in as many as 83 constituencies on Monday when counting of votes polled in the April 23 Assembly polls was on across Tamil Nadu. The AIADMK was leading in 58 seats while the ruling DMK was ahead in 34, EC data showed.
About two hours after the postal ballots were counted and EVMs opened for multi-round counting, Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam surged ahead of its Dravidian rivals-- the DMK and the AIADMK, with the ruling party struggling to catch up.
If the trends maintain, Vijay could as well ensure the biggest electoral upset, something in lines with the "1967,1977" wins he had referred to in his campaign speeches.
While the Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai brought the first non-Congress government in Tamil Nadu post-independence in 1967, the charismatic MG Ramachandran (MGR) installed the maiden AIADMK government 10 years later, unseating then DMK government under M Karunanidhi. TVK was leading in most Chennai segments, all considered DMK strongholds and currently represented by the party in the 234-member House.
A poor show by DMK could belie most exit polls giving an edge to it, riding on the number of populist measures Chief Minister M K Stalin had implemented in his five year "Dravidian model," inclusive governance.
According to EC and TV reports, 15 cabinet ministers, including Stalin were trailing. His son and deputy CM Udhayanidhi was also behind in his incumbent Chepauk-Tirvuvallikeni seat, according to a number of reports.
Stalin was trailing behind TVK's VS Babu by 1234 votes in Kolathur segment. Vijay was ahead in Tiruchirappalli East by over 3,000 votes at the end of two rounds of counting, according to EC data.
BJP is trailing in 26 constituencies and it is ahead in Thali segment alone. TVK is ahead in constituencies including Ponneri, Tiruvallur, Poonamalle, and Avadi.
AIADMK is leading in segments including Katpadi, and Guidyattam and party chief Edappadi K Palaniswami is ahead in Edappadi segment by 7003 votes.
DMK was leading in segments including Vellore, Anaikattu and Rishivandiyam.
