Maharashtra Assembly Unanimously Resolves to 'Legally Pursue' Border Row With Karanataka
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, December 27, unanimously passed a resolution to "legally pursue" the inclusion of 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka into the western state, amid the raging boundary dispute between the two states.
The resolution moved by chief minister Eknath Shinde said the Karnataka state legislature had passed a resolution on the issue to purposely fuel the border row. It condemned the "anti-Marathi" stand.
"The state government stands resolutely with the Marathi-speaking people in 865 villages. The state government will legally pursue in the Supreme Court the case to include inch and inch of the land of the 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka," said the resolution passed in the Maharashtra Assembly.
The resolution further asserted that 865 villages, including "every inch of Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar, Nipani, Bhalki" will be part of Maharashtra, according to NDTV.
Former Karnataka chief minister and senior Congress leader, Siddaramaiah, called the Maharashtra resolution "nothing but provocation by the state", the news channel reported.
Earlier, on Thursday, December 22, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on the border row with Maharashtra, resolving to protect the southern state's interests and not to cede an inch of land to its neighbour.
The resolution had also condemned the border dispute "created" by Maharashtra. The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines.
Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to more than 800 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.
Tensions have been running high on both sides of the border. Interstate buses were defaced in Belgavi in Karnataka while stones were pelted at buses in Maharashtra's Pune. Despite a meeting of both chief ministers, mediated by Union home minister Amit Shah, the situation remains volatile.
(With PTI inputs)
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