HAVERI: Mysuru resident BA Shankar was the cynosure of all eyes at the 86th Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Haveri which was inaugurated on Friday.
Holding a Kannada flag and a poster urging the government to implement the recommendations of the Mahajan Commission report, Shankar has been attending the last 30 editions of the Kannada meet. “I am ready to sacrifice myself but not Belagavi. Implement Mahajan Commission report,” reads the poster.
“I have been attending the sammelana for the last 30 years. Every Kannadiga should safeguard our border districts. Belagavi is part of Karnataka. The government should put pressure on the Union Government to implement the Mahajan Commission report recommendations,” he told TNIE.
In 1968, the Centre constituted the Mahajan Commission to solve the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka. “Recently, the Karnataka government said that the recommendations made by the Mahajan Commission were final.
So there should be no issue with Belagavi and also we will fight to merge Kasaragod (in present day Kerala) into Karnataka. I will attend every sammelana until I die hoping that the government will address my demand,” he added. Several visitors also took photos with Shankar, who also collected signatures in support of his demand.