PM mediates in Russia-Ukraine war but ignores Maha-K'taka border issue: Sanjay Raut
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that on the one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi mediates in the Russia-Ukraine war, while on the other he turns a blind eye to the simmering Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute, which is "not a sign of a good politician".
In his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the party mouthpiece Saamana, Raut also said that the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka was a struggle for humanity, and not a fight between people and governments of the two states.
Maharashtra has been long claiming Belagavi and surrounding border areas in north Karnataka as they have a sizable Marathi-speaking population. The decades-old border dispute resurfaced again after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai recently claimed that some villages in Sangli district in Maharashtra have passed a resolution to become a part of the southern state owing to lack of basic facilities there.
"The struggle of the Marathi-speaking population in Belagavi and nearby areas who were included in Karnataka against their wishes during the reorganisation of states, cannot be crushed cruelly," Raut said.
If the central government and the Supreme Court cannot resolve the issue, where should one seek justice from, the senior leader of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) asked.
"PM Modi mediates in the Russia-Ukraine war, but turns a blind eye to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. This is not a sign of a good politician," he alleged.
It is good that Union Home Minister Amit Shah took an initiative towards resolving the issue, but the question is whether the central government will take a neutral stand, the Rajya Sabha member asked.
Raut demanded that parliament should find a solution to the border dispute.
"Instead of expecting the Supreme Court to redirect the case to parliament, what is the harm if parliament finds a solution to this at the earliest," he suggested.
He said that Karnataka CM Bommai should have held talks with the organisations and leaders of Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi to resolve the dispute instead of making provocative statements against Maharashtra.
"It is clear that Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde is weak to confront Bommai's aggressive stand of claiming areas of Maharashtra," he said.
During the meeting of the two chief ministers called by Shah over the issue, it was decided that the status quo should be maintained, Raut added.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
