With the Belagavi border dispute with Maharashtra back in focus, former Minister in-charge of border affairs H.K. Patil has written to Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa seeking a high-level meeting to discuss the issue.
This comes in the wake of Maharashtra appointing senior Ministers Eknath Sindhe and Chagan Bhujbal to supervise border affairs. More recently, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on the floor of the Assembly, described Belagavi as “Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra.”
“Some leaders who are now at the helm of affairs in Maharashtra were involved in the Belagavi border dispute for many years. Now, they are trying to raise the issue. Karnataka should take note of this,” said Mr. Patil in the letter.
Karnataka has not had a Minister for border affairs for nearly two years now. Kannada activists complain that Mr. Yediyurappa is yet to convene a meeting of the Karnataka State border area protection committee headed by Justice K.L. Manjunath.
Karnataka faces the legal challenge posed by Maharashtra about the non-inclusion of Belagavi and other border areas in Maharashtra. The Maharashtra government filed a suit in the Supreme Court in 2004 and the matter is still pending before the court.
“Karnataka maintains its stand that the report of the Mahajan committee is final and binding on all States. The arguments about the maintainability of the suit filed by Maharashtra are yet to be completed. At such time, the new government in Maharashtra is trying to revisit the issue,” said Mr. Patil. He urged the Chief Minister to call a meeting of various stakeholders, including former members of the border protection committee.
Ashok Chandargi, convenor of the action committee of Kannada organisations in Belagavi district, who has served as member of the Justice Malimath Commission, said the State government should not waste time and should take the issue seriously.
