BELAGAVI: A day after Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrakanth Patil sang a Kannada patriotic song in Gokak, the opposition in Maharashtra has demanded an apology from the minister. Incidentally, Chandrakanth Patil is also Maharashtra border-in-charge minister.
On Satuday, minister Patil participated in a temple inauguration programme at Tavag village in Gokak. The programme was also attended by Belagavi district minister Ramesh Jarkiholi. While addressing the gathering in Kannada language, the minister said he was a big fan of Kannada language and actor Dr Raj Kumar. He sang the song ‘Huttidare Kannada Nadali Huttabeku’ from the movie Akasmika. The song was sung by late Dr Raj Kumar and it was picturised in Hubballi.
On Sunday, as the news of the minister singing a Kannada song went viral, several organisations in neighbouring Maharashtra demanded that the minister apologise for hailing Kannada land.
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Dhananjay Munde tweeted on Sunday that the Maharashtra ministers who used to praise Gujarat have started liking Karnataka too.
“The minister has stabbed Marathi people with a knife. He (Chandrakanth Patil) should apologise to the people of Maharashtra,” the tweet added.
Both Karnataka and Maharashtra have been locked in a border dispute for more than six decades. This is the first time a minister from Maharashtra has caused an embarrassing situation. But Kannada activists in Belagavi see this as a welcome change.
Ashok Chandargi, senior Kannada activist in Belagavi, said that the incident stresses the need of linguistic harmony between Maratha-speaking and Kannada-speaking populace.
“For centuries people across the borders have been sharing social, economic and cultural ties. Maharashtra has a lesson on Dr Raj Kumar in their Kannada textbooks for students in Sangli, Akkalkot and Jhat regions of Maharashtra. In the cooperative sector, both Belagavi and Kolhapur have been associated for decades. Just because of a few politicians the border issue has taken over development of Belagavi,” he said.
The political pundits see this as a move from the BJP party to keep Kannadigas in good books, both in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
“One has to wait see how the issue will pan. People in Maharashtra are agitated over the minister’s gesture in Gokak,” said a political leader from Belagavi.