BELAGAVI: Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi, Nitesh Patil has issued a restraining order under CrPC Section 144 (3) against Maharashtra MP Dhairyasheel Mane from entering Belagavi district, after he sent a letter to Belagavi Police Commissioner comprising his plan for the district visit on Monday, seeking necessary arrangements for his Y-plus category security.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had asked the chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra to wait for the Supreme Court verdict on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute, but Mane, who is chief of the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute expert committee, has planned to visit Belagavi on Monday, and also attend Maha Melava to be organised by the Madhyavarti Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MMES) on the opening day of the winter session in Belagavi.
His tour plan revealed that he is scheduled to attend Maha Melava at 11.30 am at the Vaccine Depot ground and return to Kolhapur from Belagavi at 1.30 pm. Anticipating that there could be provocative speeches that could disturb the peace and harmony in the area, where the winter session will be ongoing, Patil under section 144 (3) has issued the restraining order dated 19 December to take action and prevent Mane’s entry into the district.
Meanwhile, MMES has been gearing up to hold the Maha Melava to oppose the state government for conducting the winter session in Belagavi. The city police are also ensuring that all security arrangements are in place to avert any untoward incident. Former MLA Manohar Kinekar, a senior leader of MMES, said that their decision to hold the convention cannot be changed. “If the Karnataka government can hold the Assembly session, why can’t a parallel assembly session be allowed?” he said.
MMES has already requested permission from the district administration, he said. The CM Bommai said MMES has been engaged in linguistic disputes for more than 50 years, creating a disturbance in Karnataka- Maharashtra border areas. He said the government is focusing on maintaining law and order.