Uddhav Thackeray seeks UT status for disputed Maharashtra-Karnataka border areas

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said areas dominated by Marathi- speaking people on the State's border with Karnataka should be declared as a Union Territory till the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on the issue. Speaking at the launch of a book on the boundary dispute between the two states, Thackeray lashed out at the Karnataka government over alleged atrocities on Marathi- speaking population in those areas, and said there is a need to fight to win the case for their inclusion in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending the majority of population in these areas is Marathi-speaking. The case over the dispute between the two states has been pending before the Supreme Court for many years. Thackeray said, "When the case is being heard in the Supreme Court, the Karnataka government renames Belgaum (as Belagavi) declares it as its second capital, constructs a Legislature building and holds one legislature session there."

"Isn't this contempt of court?" Thackeray asked. He said the "Karnataka-occupied Marathi-speaking areas should be declared as a Union Territory" till the Supreme Court gives its final verdict. "We have to learn from past experiences and fight to win. The Karnataka-occupied Marathi-speaking areas will be included in Maharashtra," he asserted.

The chief minister also targeted the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) for allegedly weakening the Marathi cause for selfish political interests. The MES is an organisation fighting for the merger of 800-odd villages, where the Marathi-speaking population is dominant, with Maharashtra. "Earlier, the MES had half-a-dozen MLAs, Belgaum mayor used to be a Marathi-speaking person. The Shiv Sena never entered the political fray in Belgaum because it did not want to weaken the MES," he said.

Thackeray, whose party Shiv Sena formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with the NCP and the Congress in 2019, said a time-bound action plan is needed to win the legal battle and ensure the Marathi-speaking leadership and people in those areas of Karnataka remained united. "Let's take a pledge that we will not rest till we win. If the long pending issue is not resolved during this (MVA) government's tenure, it will never be," he said. "In Karnataka, whichever political party's government or chief minister takes charge, they have one thing in common - atrocities against Marathi people and language," he charged. Marathi people should also unite, he said, adding that "let us be determined to win". During the book release function, invitees from Belgaum raised slogans supporting inclusion of the Marathi speaking areas in Maharashtra. "The issue is being revived after a long time due to the new book. Our government is determined to resolve the dispute," the CM said. Later, speaking at a meeting of the high-powered committee on the boundary dispute, Thackeray said his government will vigorously pursue the case in the apex court. At the same time, the "tactics" of the Karnataka government to "destroy" Marathi from the boundary areas need to be stopped, the Shiv Sena leader said.

A statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office after the meeting said Thackeray directed the boundary dispute coordinator minister, Eknath Shinde, and the boundary dispute cell to follow-up with the legal team and keep contact with different stake-holders. "When a dispute between two states is in the court, the Centre needs to take a neutral stand. There should be a status quo till the court decides on the dispute," he said.

The meeting was attended by NCP president Sharad Pawar and senior cabinet members, among others, the statement said. Earlier, speaking at the book launch event, Pawar said the Mahajan Commission was set up (by the Centre in 1960s) to study and arrive at a conclusion when (Maharashtra leader) Senapati Bapat began his hunger strike. "The then Maharashtra chief minister Vasantrao Naik accepted the formation of the commission and agreed that its findings will be binding on the state. But, the commission was 100 per cent against Maharashtra," said Pawar, a former chief minister.