Taking serious exception to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s statement describing Belagavi, Nippani and Karwar as ‘Karnataka Occupied Maharashtra’, Former Minister and Congress leader H.K. Patil has questioned the silence of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and his cabinet colleagues on the issue.
Addressing press persons in Hubbali on Wednesday, Mr. Patil sought to know what had stopped Mr. Yediyurappa from reacting to such a statement and said he had already written a detailed letter to the Chief Minister on the issue.
“While the statement of the Maharashtra Chief Minister is highly condemnable, what is even more condemnable is the silence of the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues and those ministers in the Centre from the State,” Mr. Patil said.
Taking a dig at Mr. Yediyurappa, Mr. Patil said that “the cabinet reshuffle might have kept him busy.”
The former minister said that by issuing such a statement, Mr. Thackeray insulted Kannadigas and the federal structure of Indian Constitution.
“I would ask the Chief Minister to take serious note of Mr. Thackeray and immediately speak out on the issue. Who has stopped them from reacting? In such a serious issue, the Chief Minister should immediately call an all-party meeting as a 60-year-old issue is being raked up for political reasons”, he said.
Mr. Patil said that the Maharashtra Chief Minister should remember that the Mahajan Committee Report was final on the border issue and even the Supreme Court had not considered Maharashtra’s argument. “Now that the coalition government in Maharashtra is trying to rub an old wound and has constituted a team to take forward the issue legally, the Chief Minister of Karnataka should immediately spell out Karnataka’s stand,” he said.
On whether he would speak to his counterparts in Congress in Maharashtra, Mr. Patil said that whoever supported Mr. Thackeray on his ‘KOM’ statement including Congress leaders in Maharashtra, would be wrong as the statement was an insult to federalism. “Mr. Thackeray should also remember Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi had accepted Belagavi as part of Karnataka,” he said.
Cheating
Terming the letter of Union Minister for Environment and Forest and Climate Change to Home Minister of Karnataka Basavaraj Bommai on the Mahadayi row as nothing but cheating, he said the main intention of the letter was to create confusion for political reasons.
He said that the letter was yet another drama by BJP to deceive the people of Karnataka. “Earlier Mr. Yediyurappa had indulged in drama. Later Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked of resolving the long pending issue through negotiation. And now the Centre was playing another drama through the letter.
“Instead of withdrawing the letter, on keeping the earlier clearance in abeyance, the Union Minister has mentioned about Karnataka taking up work after gazette notification and after getting various clearances. Our basic question on why the earlier clearance was withdrawn has not been answered yet. It is just to create confusion among people”, he said.
Former minsiter A.M. Hindasageri, MLA Prasad Abbayya, Congress leaders Mahendra Singhi, Sadanand Danganavar were present.
