CM Bommai asks Maharashtra CM Shinde not to send his Ministers to Belagavi amid border dispute
Hubballi/Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said that he will ask his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde not to send his Ministers to Belagavi, amid the raging border dispute between both the state, as it may disrupt the law and order situation in the border district.
Asserting that the border dispute with Maharashtra is settled, the CM said he has already instructed the officials concerned regarding the measures to be taken in case they go ahead with the visit, and the government will not hesitate to take any legal action.
Maharashtra Ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai are scheduled meet the activists of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) at Belagavi in Karnataka on December 6 and hold talks with them on the border dispute.
"When Maharashtra Ministers said that they will be visiting Karnataka, our Chief Secretary has written to their (Maharashtra) Chief Secretary stating that they should not come in the present atmosphere, as it may create law and order situation here and their visit won't be right," Bommai said.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi, he said despite this they have said that they will come to Belagavi, which is not right.
"There is harmony between people of Karnataka and Maharashtra, at the same time there is a border dispute as well. The border dispute is a closed chapter according to Karnataka, but repeatedly Maharashtra rakes up the issue and have even gone before the Supreme Court," Bommai said.
When the matter is before Supreme Court, such acts and visits are provocative and will instigate the people, so Maharashtra Ministers should not come, he said, adding that he will once again make a request to the Maharashtra Chief Minister in this regard.
As per the earlier schedule, the two ministers were supposed to visit Belagavi on December 3.
MES is a pro-Maharashtra organisation, which has been fighting in the border areas of Belagavi for the merger of 800-odd villages with that state.
Reiterating the government's stand on the proposed visit of the Maharashtra Ministers, Bommai later in Bengaluru said, instructions have been given to Police and Revenue department officials to take necessary action aimed at maintaining law and order.
"We are aware that any one is free to move anywhere in this country, but for maintenance of law and order, the government has powers to take certain action. I have already given instructions what all measures to be taken for maintenance of law and order," he said.
The Chief Minister said he will request his Maharashtra counterpart stating, "these actions are not right, the border dispute is already settled, however, you have moved the Supreme Court, lets fight it legally. There is harmony between people of both states and no attempt should be made to disturb law and order here."
The border dispute 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 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 once a year.
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Young woman from MP who shot to fame during Kumbh found to be minor, case registered against husband
Khargone (MP) (PTI): The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes on Friday confirmed that a young woman from Madhya Pradesh who became famous due to her viral videos during the 2025 Maha Kumbh has been found to be a minor after an inquiry.
Citing the findings of an inquiry panel set up by the commission, local BJP leaders alleged that her interfaith marriage in Kerala last month was a case of "love Jihad", and sought legal action.
While the panel had submitted its report in March, ST commission chairman Antar Singh Arya confirmed its findings to the PTI on Friday.
A case for alleged kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has already been registered against her husband, a Muslim man, at Maheshwar on the basis of the inquiry findings, police said.
The girl gained national fame after her videos while selling garlands and rudraksha at the Maha Kumbh went viral on social media and also earned her a role in a film.
The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes set up an inquiry panel after receiving a complaint on March 17 from Pratham Dubey, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, that she was a minor and was being exploited.
Maheshwar BJP MLA Rajkumar Mev and BJP mandal president Vikram Patel, armed with documents, told reporters on Friday that her marriage in Kerala was a case of "love Jihad" and she should be brought back home.
'Love jihad' is a term used by right-wing groups to allege a conspiracy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriage to convert them to Islam.
Police said an investigation is underway, and further action would be taken accordingly.
The girl, who belongs to the nomadic Pardhi community, got married at a temple in Kerala in March. The interfaith marriage drew angry reactions from rightwing Hindu groups.
Her family members and film director Sanoj Mishra -- who had offered her a film role after she became famous -- too alleged that it was 'love Jihad'.
As per the inquiry conducted by the ST commission, records at the Maheshwar government hospital showed the woman's date of birth as December 30, 2009 which meant she was 16 years and two months old at the time of marriage, said Dubey, the complainant.
On a complaint filed by her father, police registered a case against the girl's husband at Maheshwar police station on March 25 for alleged kidnapping and under the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Police sources said that a separate case was also registered on March 24 under section 137(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (taking a minor from lawful custody of guardian without their consent) based on the the commission's findings.
