Bring disputed Belagavi border areas of Karnataka under Central rule: Shiv Sena (UBT)

Mumbai: As the Maharahstra-Karnataka boundary flared up afresh, the Shiv Sena (UBT) has demanded that the Centre should declare the disputed border areas in and around Belagavi (Belgaum) between the two neighbours as Union Territory, here on Monday.

Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Group Leader Aditya Thackeray protested against the injustice meted out to the Marathi-speaking people in and around Belgaum as the border dispute awaits a long-term solution.

“Now there’s a Bharatiya Janata Party government both in the state and the Centre. Why can’t they solve the matter? Prime Minister Narendra Modi must intervene immediately and ensure that injustice is not done to our Marathi brethren there,” urged Aditya Thackeray.

He added how the Karnataka government not only refused permission for a conference of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) in Belagavi and did not allow leaders from here to travel there, but the local authorities imposed a curfew there.

“The borders are being shut. Belgaum is and will remain an integral part of the Marathi identity. We strongly condemn this injustice to the Marathi people there. I appeal to the Karnataka government to ensure this immediately,” said Aditya Thackeray, speaking to the media outside the Assembly.

He shot off a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday seeking his urgent intervention and Central involvement to resolve the issue in the interests of the Marathis settled there.

Aditya Thackeray said that nothing is greater than the interests of Maharashtra and the Marathi population there, and the now Centre must bring all these disputed territories under Central rule and lamented what he termed as a ‘decline in the rights and freedom’ of the Marathi-speaking people there.

Incidentally, for the past three years, Karnataka has denied permission to the MES to hold its annual convention in Belagavi, citing potential law-and-order issues and rebuffed appeals from Maharashtra leaders to participate in the event.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) has also accused Karnataka of beefing up police deployments at the border check-posts, railway stations and nearby airports to prevent entry of Maharashtra leaders to Belagavi, now the second capital of that state after Bengaluru.

Representing the Marathi people in the border areas there, the MES hosts regular events besides an annual convention during the winter session of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly in Belagavi.

Belagavi, renamed from Belgaum in 2014, has been a subject of friction between the two states for several decades. The report of the M.C. Mahajan Commission came up with recommendations in 1966 to solve the problems but it remained hanging over territorial and administration claims by both sides.

As leaders cutting across political lines from the ruling MahaYuti and opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) condemned the goings-on, a group of Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders and activists were barred from crossing the boundary to reach Belagavi.

Maharashtra has claimed rights over Belagavi, Karwari, Nipani, and Bidar, plus another 814 border villages, all Marathi-dominated and wants them to be included here, and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.