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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Vartha Bharati launches Kalyana Karnataka edition, releases 23rd annual special issue in Kalaburagi
Kalaburagi: The Kalyana Karnataka edition of the Kannada daily Vartha Bharati was formally launched on Saturday at a programme held at Dr S M Pandit Rangamandir in Kalaburagi. The event also marked the release of the newspaper’s twenty-third annual special issue, a compilation of selected editorials, and the Kalyana Karnataka special supplement.
The programme was inaugurated by Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader. The Kalyana Karnataka edition of Vartha Bharati was unveiled by Siddharth Varadarajan, Editor-in-Chief of The Wire.
The twenty-third annual special issue was released by multilingual actor Prakash Raj. The book compiling selected editorials of Vartha Bharati was released by B R Patil, Vice-Chairperson of the State Policy and Planning Commission and MLA from Aland. The Kalyana Karnataka special supplement was released by Rahim Khan, Minister for Municipal Administration and Haj.
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Chairperson of the State Waqf Board and Sajjada Nashin of the Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah, Hazrat Syed Mohammed Ali Al Husseini, and Kalaburagi South MLA Allamaprabhu Patil were present as chief guests.
Among the special invitees on the dais were Koraneshwara Mahaswamiji of the Tontadarya Anubhava Mantapa, Aland; Bishop Rev Fr Robert Miranda of Kalaburagi; Bhante Varajyothi of Anandur; social activist K Neela; farmers’ leader Chamarasa Mali Patil; DSS state convenor D G Sagar; and activist and singer Ambanna Arolikar.
Speaking on the occasion, Assembly Speaker U T Khader said Vartha Bharati had emerged as the voice of the weak and the voiceless in society and had earned the love, trust and confidence of people across the state. He said the newspaper had carved out a distinct identity in the media landscape and expressed happiness that it was now reaching the Kalyana Karnataka region. He added that Vartha Bharati had remained free from political pressures and inducements and expressed hope that it would continue to stand as a support system for the distressed.
B R Patil said running a newspaper in the present times was not easy, as the media sector had increasingly turned into an industry driven by profit. Amidst such challenges, he said, Vartha Bharati had maintained integrity, honesty and commitment throughout its twenty-three-year journey. He expressed confidence that the newspaper would continue on the same path. Referring to Kalaburagi, he noted that the region frequently witnessed agitations due to the large number of unresolved issues, and said Vartha Bharati should continue to bring the problems and suffering of the people to the attention of the government and contribute to finding solutions.
