BELAGAVI: Activists of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti have been allegedly forcing Marathi-speaking corporators to give an apology letter for not observing the Rajyotsava as Black Day.
MES has been observing Black Day for several years now in protest against the inclusion of some Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka. A corporator, who didn’t want to be named, said at first he had refused to do so, but had eventually agreed and given such a letter to the MES on Tuesday.
The activists have also been allegedly asking the Marathi corporators to give an undertaking that they will pass a resolution seeking the merger of Belagavi and other Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka into Maharashtra at the next general body meeting of the corporation. Vijay More, MES leader, said it has been the tradition to pass such a resolution at the general body meeting. The mayor and the deputy mayor are from the MES.
The Marathi-speaking corporators suspect the Belagavi South MLA to be behind the resolution move. They allege that he wants the present elected body to be dissolved like the previous one for passing the resolution, as he feels this move can help Maharashtra in its border dispute with Karnataka in the Supreme Court.
A few Marathi corporators said that they won by garnering the votes of Kannadigas too.
They said they were not interested in playing language politics, but wanted to focus on the development of the city.“MES is snatching our language rights for its personal gain. We too love our language, but there is no need to prove it in public,” a Marathi corporator said.