Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday suggested to pass a resolution in both Houses of the state legislature reiterating its position on the Belagavi border issue, reported The Indian Express.
This comes days after Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde and his Karnataka counterpart Bommai met union Home minister Amit Shah in Delhi following flare-up between the two states over their borders. During the meeting, Shah had asked the CMs of both states to set up a six-member joint ministerial panel to deal with the dispute and not make any territorial claims till the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict on the border row.
“If everyone agrees, while giving the government’s reply on the border debate, we will pass a resolution reiterating the state’s stand in both Houses of the legislature. We have already passed several such resolutions, we will reiterate it,” Bommai said on Tuesday, during a debate on the border dispute in the winter session of the state Assembly held in Belagavi.
Members of all political parties, including Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, agreed to Bommai’s suggestion of a House resolution.
The Karnataka government is holding its 10-day winter session at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi, which is at the centre of a border row between the two neighbouring states.
Meanwhile, Bommai also criticised politicians from Maharashtra for “forcefully entering the state” and “creating law and order problems”. The Karnataka Police on Monday prevented politicians from Maharashtra from entering the state.
“Our stand has been clear and will stick to that forever. The same will be reiterated through a resolution passed by both Houses of the legislature,” he added.
The border row
The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Karnataka’s Belagavi district, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population, along with claims to 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently in the Karnataka territory.
In 1966, the Centre constituted the Mahajan Commission, which was headed by the then SC chief justice Meher Chand Mahajan, which recommended 247 villages/places, including Jatt, Akkalkote and Solapur, to be made part of Karnataka. It also declared 264 villages/places, including Nippani, Khanapur and Nandagad, to be made part of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra rejected the commission’s report, while Karnataka considers the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final. The case is pending before the Supreme Court since 2004.