Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai should ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Central leaders of the BJP to direct Maharashtra government against fomenting trouble on the border row with Karnataka, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said.
Referring to the attack on buses from Karnataka in Maharashtra, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the BJP was ruling both Karnataka as well as Maharashtra and Mr. Bommai should ask Mr. Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah to direct the Maharashtra government against creating trouble on the issue.
Speaking to reports in Mysuru on Thursday, Mr. Siddaramaiah described the reluctance of BJP leaders from Karnataka to approach its Central leadership on the issue as “cowardice”.
He said the border issue between Karnataka and Maharashtra is long settled. The Mahajan Commission report on the matter is final and there can be no compromise on the integrity of Belagavi. “We will not part with even an inch of Belagavi,” he said.
Raking the issue for political purposes
The Maharashtra government has kept the border issue between the two states alive for political purposes. They have raked it up by filing a petition in the Supreme Court seeking inclusion of Belagavi in Maharashtra. “We have objected to the petition. Our stand is that the petition by Maharashtra government is not maintainable. We should engage a good lawyer and argue the case,” he said.
While the matter is still in the court, the former CM alleged, Maharashtra was indulging in violence against Karnataka’s buses, which were stoned and blackened. “Let them fight the matter in the court. We will also fight it out in the court,” he said.
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