BELAGAVI: Amid reports of attack and defacing of vehicles with Karnataka registration in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday said it is the duty of the government in the neighbouring state to maintain law and order there.
He also said that the state's Home Secretary and Director General of Police will speak to their Maharashtra counterparts on providing safety to Kannadigas there, and protection to the state's buses and other vehicles.
"Maintaining law and order in Karnataka is our responsibility and we are taking strong steps to maintain it. Law and order in Maharashtra is the responsibility of the government there. Regarding the recent incident in Maharashtra, our police officials had spoken to their counterparts there," Bommai told reporters here.
"Let our officials speak first, thereafter if the need arises, I will," he said in response to a question whether he will be speaking to the Maharashtra Chief Minister.
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There have been reports of vehicles bearing Karnataka numbers being defaced with black ink and attacked in Maharashtra's Kolhapur, allegedly by some Shiv Sena activists.
Recently some miscreants had even torched a Kannada flag in Kolhapur, and the incident had created an uproar in the state.
Responding to a question regarding Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut's tweet calling for Marathas to unite with a video of alleged desecration of Shivaji Maharaj's statue, claiming that it was from Bengaluru, Bommai said, responsible people should not incite anybody at any given time.
"Shivaji Maharaj, Sangolli Rayanna, Kittur Chennamma are fighters, who fought for the country, in their name, if we start fighting and dividing, it will be a disservice to them.
Any responsible person should not incite people to violence and take law and order into their hands," he said.
Karnataka will not allow anybody to take law and order into their hands, he added.