BELAGAVI/HUBBALLI : Even as two Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shamburaj Desai have made it clear that they will visit Belagavi as planned on December 6, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said his government will not hesitate to take legal action against the duo if they enter the district.
Speaking to reporters in Hubballi on Monday, Bommai warned the two ministers against going ahead with their visit to Belagavi while indicating that his government was mulling taking legal action against them if they did so. “The boundary dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra is a closed chapter.
And the visit of Maharashtra ministers to Belagavi at this juncture is an act of provocation. Already, the Maharashtra government had been requested through bureaucratic channels not to send their ministers to Karnataka. As the situation is volatile in Belagavi, their visit could lead to a law and order problem. However, it is unfair of the two ministers to remain unrelenting despite the state’s objection to their visit,’’ he added.
In spite of the fact that Kannada and Marathi people are living in harmony, the Maharashtra government moved the Supreme Court over the vexed dispute, he said, adding that for Karnataka, the dispute was a closed chapter. And now, when the case is before the apex court, it is unfair that Maharashtra leaders are provoking people and inciting their sentiments, he said.
Stating that he would once again appeal to his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde not to send his ministers to Belagavi, Bommai said he had asked his officials to check on what actions were taken during such situations in Karnataka by the governments of the past.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) activists staged a protest and performed urulu seve at Rani Chennamma Circle in Belagavi on Monday demanding that the district administration not allow the two ministers into Belagavi. They also urged the government to initiate stringent action against those police officers “who attacked and insulted a Kannadiga student for waving a Kannada flag” recently. The agitating activists took out a rally from Chennamma Circle to the DC office and submitted a memorandum to the DC Nitesh Patil.
THEY WILL NOT BE ALLOWED: BELAGAVI DC
Belagavi DC Nitesh Patil has said the two Maharashtra ministers will not be allowed to enter Belagavi on. Speaking to reporters in Belagavi on Monday, he said, “I have received the tour plan of the two ministers and an MP from Mahar-ashtra. Earlier, they were to visit on December 3 but now their visit has been pushed to December 6. The police commissioner of Belagavi city and SP of the district have informed that the law and order situation may get disturbed if they visit at this juncture. We expect the ministers to cancel their visit... else we will take action.’’ Prohibition orders would be imposed to ban their entry into Belagavi under IPC section 144(3) like it was issued on earlier occasions, he said.