Karnataka to stop Maharashtra's health insurance scheme in 865 border villages: CM Bommai
Belagavi/Bengaluru, Mar 15: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said his government would take measures to stop the Maharashtra government from offering its health insurance scheme in 865 border villages that the neighbouring state is trying to lay claim to.
He was responding to Congress' criticism over his administration's alleged inaction over Maharashtra's Eknath Shinde government recently announcing an additional Rs 54 crore for implementing the 'Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana' in the border villages of Karnataka, which the neighbouring state is claiming for itself.
Calling the Maharashtra's government's move an "insult" to Karnataka, state Congress President D K Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah earlier today demanded Bommai's resignation, accusing him of having "miserably failed" in protecting the interests of the state and Kannadigas.
In response to a question from reporters about Congress' demand for his resignation, Bommai said, "If Maharashtra releases (money) here, why should I resign? We too have released funds for places in Maharashtra like Pandharpur, Tuljapur, where people from Karnataka visit."
Speaking to the reporters here, he said, "I will look into their fund release, we will take measures to stop it.... I need not learn from D K Shivakumar."
Earlier, warning the Maharashtra government, Shivakumar said not even an inch of Karnataka's land would be ceded.
"It is our land, our water, and we will protect it. We are ready to sacrifice our lives to protect our land," he said, as he urged the Karnataka government to take immediate counter measures, stating that it was a mater of the state's self esteem.
Calling on pro-Kannada organisations, artists and literary figures to come together to express their opposition against Maharashtra's move with one voice, Shivakumar also questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah's silence on the issue.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters in Hubballi, Siddaramaiah said Maharashtra's move was a threat to India's federal structure.
Hitting out at Bommai for having failed to protect Karnataka's interest, he said he had no right to continue as Chief Minister and should resign immediately.
The decades old border row between the two states had intensified in December last year, with vehicles from either side being targeted, leaders from both the States weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists being detained by police amid a tense atmosphere in Belagavi.
Also, both states had passed resolutions against each other in their respective legislatures, putting forward their claim on the border villages.
The border issue dates back to 1957 when States were reorganised 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 over 800 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently a part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains that the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report is final. And, in an assertion about Belagavi being an integral part of the State, Karnataka built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha there, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the State Legislature and Secretariat, in Bengaluru.
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Karnataka to witness heavy rain for next 10 days
Bengaluru: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast that the southwest monsoon will cause heavy rainfall likely this weekend and will drench Karnataka over the next 10 days.
The monsoon has begun retreating from northwestern India. Conditions remain active over the south, with an upper air trough extending up to 1.5 km over North Interior Karnataka and northern Tamil Nadu, combined with weakening monsoon winds across the peninsula, is driving the current spell. N. Puviarasan, head of the IMD’s meteorological centre in Bengaluru, said in a conversation with Deccan Herald, “As a result, the whole of Karnataka will see rain over the next week to 10 days."
With a cyclone in the Pacific Ocean along with a low-pressure system over the north Bay of Bengal, the monsoon is expected to intensify during the next four days. IMD has predicted heavy rains across South Interior Karnataka, including Bengaluru, throughout the weekend.
Bengaluru, recorded widespread moderate to heavy rainfall on Thursday. Between 8.30 am and 8.30 pm, Bengaluru city logged 45.9 mm of rain accompanied by thunderstorms. HAL airport registered 6 mm and the Bengaluru Urban automatic station recorded 47.5 mm. Doddathoguru, near Electronics City, reported 55 mm.
According to IMD forecast heavy rainfall will occur at isolated places in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Yadgir, Koppal, Raichur, Ramanagara and Mandya districts in the next few days.
The southwest monsoon is now expected to extend until mid-October and with little or no break in between, the northeast monsoon is likely to follow immediately. These are expected to last until December. “There may be no break in between,” Puviarasan said.
