Will pass resolution to send strong message to Maharashtra over border row: Karnataka CM Bommai

"For Karnataka, the creation of Karnataka state in the aftermath of the reorganisation of states is final and binding,'' said Bommai.
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai. (File Photo | Express)
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai. (File Photo | Express)

BELAGAVI: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai assured the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday that his government is committed to protecting the interest of Kannadigas when it comes to the boundary dispute with Maharashtra.

Responding to questions raised by the leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah on the government's stand, Bommai said a resolution will be passed in the Legislative Assembly to send a strong message to Maharashtra that the boundary dispute is a closed chapter.

"For Karnataka, the creation of Karnataka state in the aftermath of the reorganisation of states is final and binding,'' said Bommai.

During the debate on the vexed dispute, Siddaramaiah asked the CM as to what was the need to attend the meeting convened by Union Home Minister Amit Shah when the state government has repeatedly asserted that the boundary issue is a closed chapter.

"You (CM) should not have attended the meeting with Amit Shah as the Maharashtra leadership is trying to rake up the issue for its political gains time and again. Although the issue is dead, the Maharashtra government is keen to create a dispute over it. The state government should remain firm on its stand and never succumb to the neighbouring state's pressure tactics,'' said Siddaramaiah.

When former minister H K Patil also questioned the CM on why he agreed to Amit Shah's suggestion to have a committee of six ministers with three from each state, the CM said the state government has time and again contended that the boundary dispute is a closed chapter.

"Since it is a matter of law and order, I have to attend the meeting when the Union Home Minister convenes it,'' Bommai said. The CM said his government is committed to protecting the interests of all Kannadigas living within and outside the state in the country.

"I reiterate that the issue of boundary row between the two states is a closed chapter and none can take away even an inch of Karnataka's land,'' he clarified.

While recalling the turn of events that took place in connection with the boundary row between the two states, starting from the time when Karnataka state came into existence, Siddaramaiah said the Maharashtra state rejected the recommendations of the Mahajan Commission despite the fact that it was formed by the Union government at the behest of Maharashtra government in 1966. He said the Mahajan Commission is the end of the dispute.

"As per the 1881 census, 64.39 per cent of people in the Belagavi region were Kannada speakers while merely 24.04 were Marathi linguists. So, the Fazal Ali Commission rightly allotted Belagavi to Karnataka based on the facts," said Siddaramaiah.

Highlighting the legalities of the boundary case in the Supreme Court, Bommai said the state government contends in the court about the maintainability of the boundary case. The contention of the Karnataka side is that the issue of boundary dispute will not come under the purview of the Supreme Court and that only the Parliament has the power to deal with it.

"The case in the apex court has been filed by Maharashtra in 2004 but the hearing into it is yet to take place,'' said Bommai.

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