Why is BSY not reacting to Uddhav Thackeray’s comments, asks H.K. Patil

December 25, 2019 03:34 pm | Updated 08:18 pm IST - HUBBALLI

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 presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Patil sought to know what has stopped Mr. Yediyurappa from reacting to such an insulting statement about the federal system of democracy in the country. He added that he has 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 disappointing is the silence of Chief Minister Yediyurappa, his Cabinet colleagues and those Ministers in the Centre from the State,” Mr. Patil said. “Probably the Cabinet reshuffle has kept him busy.”

The former Minister said that by issuing such astatement, Mr. Thackeray had insulted Kannadigas and the federal structure of the Constitution. “I would ask the Chief Minister to take serious note of it and immediately speak out. He should call an all-party meeting as a 60-year old issue is being raked up for political reasons,” he said.

Mr. Patil also said that the Maharashtra Chief Minister should remember that the Mahajan Committee Report was final on the border issue and even in the Supreme Court, Maharashtra’s argument was not considered. “Now that the coalition government in Maharashtra is trying to rub salt on 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 the Congress in Maharashtra, Mr. Patil said whoever supports Mr. Thackeray, including Congress leaders in Maharashtra, is wrong as the statement is an “insult to federalism”. Mr. Thackeray should remember that Mahatma Gandhi and the late Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi accepted Belagavi as part of Karnataka, he said.

‘Cheating’

Calling the letter of the Union Minister for Environment and Forest and Climate Change to Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai on the Mahadayi row as nothing but cheating, he said the intention was to create confusion for political reasons.

The former Minister, under whose tenure the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project had gained momentum, said the letter was “yet another drama by the BJP to deceive the people of Karnataka”. “Earlier, Mr. Yediyurappa indulged in such a drama. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked of resolving the long-pending issue through negotiation. And now, the Centre is playing another drama. Instead of withdrawing the letter, dated December 18, on keeping the earlier clearance in abeyance, the Union Minister has mentioned 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,” he said.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.