Maharashtra threatens pro-Karnataka gram panchayatss, but they remain firm

Eleven GPs of Akkalkot taluk and many GPs in Jath taluk in Sangli district had submitted a memorandum to the Maharashtra government recently demanding the merger of their villages with Karnataka.
Members of Kannada organisations being detained by the police in front of the Bank of Maharashtra branch at Gandhinagar, in Bengaluru on Friday | Express
Members of Kannada organisations being detained by the police in front of the Bank of Maharashtra branch at Gandhinagar, in Bengaluru on Friday | Express

BELAGAVI: Several gram panchayats in Akkalkot of Solapur district in Maharashtra which recently passed resolutions demanding the merger of their villages with Karnataka have decided to stick to their stand despite warnings allegedly from higher authorities in Maharashtra that their local bodies would be dissolved if they failed to withdraw the resolutions.

“We have made it clear to the Maharashtra government that we will go to Karnataka if our villages are not provided basic amenities. We will not back off from our stand under any circumstances,’’ said Alage (Akkalkot taluk, Maharashtra) Gram Panchayat president Mahantesh Attur.

Eleven GPs of Akkalkot taluk and many GPs in Jath taluk in Sangli district had submitted a memorandum to the Maharashtra government recently demanding the merger of their villages with Karnataka. Several members of GPs in Akkalkot said they will not stop their struggle to get their rights.

In the meantime, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray slammed Karnataka over the ongoing border tussle and tweeted, “Karnataka needs a ‘struggle’ ahead of its assembly elections and that’s why it has been deliberately targeting Maharashtra. What Maharashtra gained so far was all due to its struggle. Therefore, Maharashtra is prepared for all kinds of struggles and conflicts.”

Blaming the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti for escalating tensions along the border, former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi said, “We all politicians in Belagavi region are united when it comes to protecting the state’s land and water. The MES game will not work anymore. We are not wearing bangles here and we are all men.”

Savadi said in Chikkodi that MES is dead, while some leaders in Maharashtra and Belagavi are trying to wake it up. The tension over the border row is adversely impacting business activities in both states on the border, he said, appealing to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to keep all such forces at bay.
The people of 44 villages of Jath have been demanding the merger of their areas with Karnataka for a long time as the neighbouring government has not provided them basic amenities. There is no need to merge them with Karnataka, but the Maharashtra government should provide all facilities to them, he said.

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