BENGALURU: A day after the border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra flared up once again leading to Shiv Sena activists burning the effigy of BS Yediyurappa, the Karnataka chief minister hit back. Speaking to reporters on Monday, the chief minister said Karnataka will not cede a single inch of land to Maharashtra. Baiting his party BJP’s ally-turned-foe Shiva Sena for causing unrest, Yediyurappa said his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray was creating a scenario of fight between people of two states.
“Decisions have already been taken on what (region) belongs to Maharashtra and what to Karnataka. The Maharashtra chief minister is stirring controversy to politicise the matter. I condemn it. There is no question of Karnataka ceding even an inch of land,” Yediyurappa told reporters on Monday.
The border dispute between the two states flared up once again following criticism of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) by a few Kannada organisations. The MES has been fighting for the merger of Marathi-speaking villages of Belagavi in Karnataka into Maharashtra. With the Shiv Sena no longer an ally of the BJP, there is no love lost between the two chief ministers as Uddhav appointed ministers to co-ordinate his government’s efforts to expedite the case regarding the border dispute in the Supreme Court, while Yediyurappa attacked him for causing unrest.
“The Maharashtra CM is creating a scenario where people of the two states fight against each other. We need to maintain harmony. It is impossible for Karnataka to part with any space. I appeal to the people to maintain calm,” Yediyurappa added.