Mumbai: The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka intensified on Tuesday after heavy vehicles bearing Maharashtra number plates were attacked with stones by a local pro-Kannada group called the ‘Karnataka Rakshana Vedike’ (KRV) at Hire Bagewadi on the outskirts of Belagavi in Karnataka. Around six heavy vehicles were reportedly damaged in the incident.
Amid an outcry from opposition parties as well as on social media, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis dialled Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and expressed his displeasure. “We are extremely disappointed with the developments. Such incidents are not acceptable,” Fadnavis told Bommai, adding that strong measures needed to be initiated by Karnataka to avoid a backlash in Maharashtra, which had shown a lot of restraint, as it did not want to escalate the border dispute.
After his tete-a-tete with Bommai, Fadnavis said the Karnataka CM had promised to take stringent action against the miscreants and had also promised protection to buses coming to Karnataka. However, the situation in border areas remained tense, with the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) stopping its services to Karnataka, following an advisory issued by the state home department.
Fadnavis added that he would talk to Union home minister Amit Shah to look into the issue. “The Centre, state and Karnataka governments will ensure that the situation does not get out of hand,” he later told mediapersons. “Pawar won’t need to go to Belagavi.”
The reference was to NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s reaction to the violence. Pawar, who had been silent on the border dispute thus far, came out all guns blazing against Bommai. He not only accused Bommai of making provocative statements to gain political advantage in the upcoming assembly elections but also charged him with disrespecting the Supreme Court where the border dispute matter is expected to come up for hearing soon.
“Maharashtra has shown patience so far but there’s a limit to everything. If our vehicles are attacked, there are bound to be repercussions. If there are, the Karnataka chief minister and his government will be responsible for the mess,” Pawar said, adding the Karnataka government had endangered the unity of the country, and the Centre could not remain a mute spectator in the case.
“After today’s incident, we can’t watch all this as spectators. If the situation is not brought under control in the next 24 to 48 hours, all of us will have to go to Belagavi to support the Marathi-speaking people,” Pawar said, adding that activists from the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) had requested him to pay a visit, as the Karnataka government was misusing the police to terrorise Marathi-speaking people in the border villages. “The time has come for us to take a stand on whatever is going on in Karnataka,” the NCP chief said. “Bommai is inciting anti-Maharashtra feelings, and he will be responsible if the situation gets out of hand.”
The NCP chief’s stand will bring more trouble for the Shinde-Fadnavis government, as it has been accused of not taking a strong stand against the Karnataka government vis-a-vis the border dispute in the last few days. The attack on the vehicles has also forced ministers from the Shiv Sena BSS, the BJP’s ruling ally in the state, to condemn the incident. Several ministers from the party, led by chief minister Eknath Shinde, denounced the violence and also warned Karnataka not to try their patience, leading to embarrassment for the ruling BJP.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray slammed the Shinde-Fadnavis government over postponing the ministers visit to Belagavi and said that they got scared owing to CM Bommai’s threats. “Anger comes from the fact that they (CM Shinde led party) were discussing the subject which was not the subject for discussion. As soon as the Karnataka CM threatened, our ministers decided not to visit the place (Belgavi) out of fear. Maharashtra has never seen such a hopeless government,” Aaditya tweeted on Tuesday.
The Shinde-Fadnavis government is already under attack from the Opposition after two Maharashtra ministers—Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai—postponed their Tuesday visit to Belagavi following objections by the Karnataka government. The NCP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress came down heavily on the latter for not responding to the situation.
“The border dispute is in the Supreme Court. The Maharashtra government is of the view that every state must strongly present itself before the court. I also request them to not try the patience of the people of Maharashtra,” said Uday Samant, state industries minister responding to the attack.
The controversy
The border controversy hotted up after Karnataka CM Bommai said a couple of weeks ago that his government was seriously considering including 40 villages from Jat tehsil (in Maharashtra’s Sangli district) in Karnataka.
Several villages in the border districts of Nashik, Nanded and Sangli had also favoured a merger with their respective bordering states in protest against the inadequate amenities being provided to them by the Maharashtra government.
To assuage the situation, the state’s ports and mining minister Dada Bhuse on Tuesday visited Surgana village in Nashik, which has demanded a merger with neighbouring state Gujarat. On Monday, the state industries minister rushed to villages of Jat tehsil in Sangli. Local villagers said they were not getting the required attention from the Maharashtra government and thus would not mind merging with Karnataka.
Amid the damage control exercise started by the Shinde-Fadnavis government, around 11 villages from Akkalkot tehsil in Solapur district demanded a merger with Karnataka. Highlighting the absence of basic facilities such as roads, educational and health infrastructure, a delegation of villagers submitted a proposal passed by respective gram panchayats to the district collector on Tuesday.
