'Not an inch of Karnataka will be ceded to Maharashtra': CM Bommai on border dispute

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Government on Tuesday reacted strongly to the resolution passed by the Maharashtra Assembly on the border row.

'Not an inch of Karnataka will be ceded to Maharashtra. Karnataka govt fully committed to protecting every bit of land," Bommai said.

Senior BJP ministers in the Basavaraj Bommai Cabinet said that the resolution would only worsen the situation and escalate tension along the border.

The government reiterated the resolution passed in the Karnataka Assembly that said that “there is no compromise on the matters relating to Karnataka’s land, water, language and Kannadigas’ interest”.

As per the resolution, if the feelings of Karnataka’s people and members (of Assembly) are affected, the government is committed to unitedly take constitutional and legal measures to protect the interest of the state. It reads, “Condemning border disputes created unnecessarily by the people of Maharashtra, this House unanimously passes a resolution that it is committed to protect the interest of the state.”

The Maharashtra resolution is similar in nature and states that there are 865 Marathi-speaking villages, and “every inch of these villages will be brought into Maharashtra”.

Reacting to it, former Karnataka Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah called it “nothing but provocation by the state”.
Political observers said that there is more than what meets the eye in the BJP vs BJP battle between the two states. The tougher the stand that Maharashtra takes on the border, it is the BJP that will reap the benefits by playing on the Kannadiga pride in the Assembly elections a few months ahead.