Karnataka Dy CM seeks UT status to Mumbai, after Maharashtra CM seeks similar status to border areas
Bengaluru, Jan 27: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi on Wednesday said Mumbai should be made part of the state and urged the Centre to declare it a Union Territory until then, as he hit back at Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for raking up the border issue with a similar demand.
"We condemn the Maharashtra CM's statement. The Mahajan report is final. We are confident that things will be in our favour in the Supreme Court too.
The demand of the people of our region is that we have been part of Mumbai-Karnataka (region), so we too have our right on Mumbai," Savadi told reporters.
From now on, he said the people would start demanding that Mumbai should be made part of Karnataka as they too had a share in it.
"Until it (Mumbai) is made part of Karnataka, I urge the central government to make it an union territory,"the DCM said in response to a question on repeated raking up of the border issue.
"With us now demanding Mumbai, things may get fine," he said.
Earlier in the day Thackeray had said that areas dominated by Marathi speaking people on the state's border with Karnataka should be declared as a Union Territory till the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on the issue.
Ramesh Jarkiholi,Minister in-charge of Belagavi district, which borders Maharashtra, said Thackeray had raked up the border issue to divert public attention from the 'failures' of his government.
"...Don't give much importance to what he says. Uddhav Thackeray has failed at all levels. So he is trying to rake up the emotive border issue and trying to divert public attention," he said.
Minister for Women and Child Development Shashikala Jolle, who also hails from the Belagavi district, said Thackeray has no right to speak about Belagavi.
"We are not sitting quiet here with our hands tied. We are people of Karnataka...the soil of Kannada has nurtured us...if the issue is raked up repeatedly, we will give a befitting reply," she said.
The Minister pointed out that Belagavi is the land where Kittur Rani Chennamma had led an armed rebellion against the British for freedom.
Thackeray had on January 17 too said his government is committed towards incorporating into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority.
Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending the majority of population in these areas is Marathi-speaking.
On its part, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka has built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modeled on the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariat in Bengaluru, where the legislature session is held once a year.
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Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee drowns in sea
Kolkata (PTI): Popular Bengali actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee died on Sunday after drowning in the sea at Talsari beach in Odisha, film industry sources said.
He was 43, and left behind his 13-year-old son and actor-wife Priyanka Sarkar.
He had gone to the beach, located near Digha in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district, for shooting a Bengali soap titled 'Bhole Baba Par Karega', his co-actor Diganta Bagchi said.
"After today's shoot, he went alone to the water but somehow got entangled in something under the water... The exact circumstances are not clear. Suddenly, people, including crew members, were shouting that Rahul was drowning and we pulled him out of the water. We rushed him to Digha hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead," Bagchi said.
A West Bengal Police officer said the actor was declared dead at Digha hospital after being brought from a sea beach in neighbouring Odisha.
"We have contacted our counterparts in Odisha to ascertain the sequence of events. A case of unnatural death has been registered in Digha police station as well. We are also talking to his production team members and eyewitnesses," he said.
Expressing grief over the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a statement, "I am shocked, deeply saddened to hear the news that the distinguished, young, and popular actor Rahul Arunoday Banerjee is suddenly no longer among us."
"I am unable to comprehend what exactly happened. He was one of my favourite actors and a person I truly admired. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family, loved ones, and countless admirers," she added.
"Rahul's sudden passing is an irreparable loss to the Bengali entertainment industry, to both Tollywood and television," she pointed out.
Rahul, known in the Bengali television industry for his character roles, had been active in soaps for several years.
He shot to fame with his role in the blockbuster 'Chirodini tumi je amar' in 2008, followed by a string of hits such as 'Tumi asbe bole' (2014), 'Zulfiqar' (2016), 'Byomkesh Gotro' (2018), 'Biday Byomkesh' (2018), 'The Academy of Fine Arts' (2025), among others.
He had acted in TV serials such as 'Hargouri pice hotel' and 'Mohonna'.
Expressing shock over the news, director Raj Chakraborty said, "After I received phone calls about his death, I wished it was not true. But, later it was confirmed."
Chakraborty, who had directed 'Chirodini tumi je amar', casting Rahul in the lead role, said he was a spontaneous actor and had immense possibilities.
"I am in a state of shock," he said.
Actor-director Anjan Dutta said he had known Rahul for many years and was not in a condition to speak about the incident.
