Brushing aside objections raised by neighbouring Maharashtra over the inauguration of the Suvarna Soudha in Belgaum on Thursday, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar said the occasion marks the culmination of a long-pending dream of the people of north Karnataka.
Speaking to presspersons in Bangalore on Wednesday, Mr. Shettar said the Suvarna Soudha, built on the lines of the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore, will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Governor H.R. Bhardwaj.
The Suvarna Soudha will help give a boost to development in the north Karnataka region, Mr. Shettar said, and added that it was a matter of pride for him that he, who hails from north Karnataka, is at the helm of affairs in the State when the Suvarna Soudha is being inaugurated.
He said the first legislature session in the newly constructed Suvarna Soudha will be held either in the last week of November or first week of December. He added that the government intends to convene at least one legislature session every year at the Suvarna Soudha.
When his attention was drawn to the appeals made by leaders of Maharashtra to the President to stay away from the inauguration, Mr. Shettar said the border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra over Belgaum is a “closed chapter”.
‘Meaningless’
He dismissed such appeals as “politically motivated” and “meaningless”.
Karnataka has already held legislature sessions and Cabinet meetings in Belgaum, he said, pointing out that certain leaders were raking up the issue to serve their own narrow political gains.