Condemning the recent statement of Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackarey about including Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka in Maharashtra, members of the Maratha Kranti (Mouna) Morcha staged a protest in Dharwad on Wednesday.
The protestors said that lakhs of Marathas were residing across Karnataka for the last few centuries and have all become Kannadigas. They said that they would oppose and condemn any such statement aimed at creating animosity between Marathas and Kannadigas in Karnataka.
After marching to the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Dharwad, the morcha members staged a demonstration.
Addressing the protestors, district convenor of the morcha Bhimappa Y. Kasayi urged the Maharashtra Chief Minister to refrain from issuing such statements of mischief. Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani were integral parts of Karnataka and they would not give away an inch of Kannada land to Maharashtra, he added. “Over 65 lakh Marathas were residing in almost every village in Karnataka from Bidar in the North to Chamarajnagar in the South and from Ballari to Gokarna. We are deeply hurt by the Chief Minister’s statement. It is a statement unbecoming of you(Thackarey),” he said.
Questioning the rationale behind Mr. Thackarey’s statement, Mr. Kasayi sought to know whether Marathi-speaking areas in the North such as Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh and Vadodara (Baroda) in Gujarat would be given away to Maharashtra. “Being a Chief Minister, you should stop issuing such illogical statements that may disturb the bonhomie among Marathi and Kannada speaking people in Karnataka,” he said.
Before making any comment, Mr. Thackarey, who represents a party built in the name of Shivaji Maharaj, should first make attempts to know about the history of Shivaji Maharaj who had his roots in Karnataka, Mr. Kasayi said.
He also sought to know whether he had visited the monuments related to Shivaji Maharaj and whether he had made any contribution towards their conservation and development.
The protestors then submitted a memorandum addressed to the Maharashtra Chief Minister to the Dharwad district officials.
