Amid raging controversy over the Maharashtra Karnataka border issue especially after the Karnataka Chief Minister Mr Basavraj Bommai laying claims over the villages and cities from the state and attack on vehicles from the state, the Chief Minister Mr Eknath Shinde on Wednesday broke his silence by saying that he held talks with his counterpart and told him that stern action be taken against those who were involved in attacks on vehicles that entered from Maharashtra in Belgaum. Besides, the CM said that he has also told Mr Bommai that efforts should be made to avoid any law and order issues between the two states. Mr Shinde, who was under attack for his silence on the issue, said that he also spoke to Union Home Minister Mr Amit Shah and apprised him of the present situation in the border area.
Mr Shinde said Mr Bommai has assured that stern action will be taken against those who pelted stones and attacked the vehicles from Maharashtra. ‘’Karnataka CM assured that attacks on vehicles from the state will not happen again and agreed that priority will be given to the maintenance of law and order situation to avoid any inconvenience to the people from the two states. This is important especially when the border issue is pending in the Supreme Court,’’ he noted.
However, opposition parties stepped up their attacks against the Shinde Fadnavis government for being a silent observer when the Karnataka CM has been making provocative statements and vehicles from the state being attacked there.
Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MP Mr Sanjay Raut slammed the Shinde Fadnavis government as he dared the chief minister to ask the Centre to declare the disputed area between Maharashtra and Karnataka as a Union Territory. ‘’It is a fight for humanity,” said Raut while speaking to reporters here and added, “Tell CM if he has guts then go to Delhi and ask the disputed area to be declared as a Union Territory”.
He alleged that the BJP government at the Centre is involved in the issue and said, “The Central government must be involved in all of this, otherwise why is it suddenly happening now?”
He issued a stern warning to the Centre saying that “If anything happens to Maharashtra, then the country’s Home Minister will be responsible.” He said, ‘’20 lakh Marathi people staying away from the state have been demanding justice for the last 5 decades.”
The Congress legislature Party leader Mr Balasaheb Thorat demanded that the Chief Minister should immediately call an all-party meeting to discuss the present situation in the border area and to avoid any incident that will harm the peace.
‘’The Bharatiya Janata Party is behind the attacks on the Marathi people living along the Maharashtra-Karnataka border.BJP is doing wrong politics on border issues. Since there is a BJP government in Karnataka and at the Centre, is the Centre giving instructions to Karnataka on the issue? We don't know this but as this matter is serious, our Chief Minister should call the leaders of all the parties in the state and discuss it. We should be briefed about the facts and what is the next course of action the state government will be taking. When injustice is being done to the Marathi brothers, Maharashtra should stand firmly behind them,’’ he noted.
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