BENGALURU: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, during the meeting in Mumbai of the high-powered committee on the boundary dispute with Karnataka, said that they will fight the case in the Supreme Court for the interest of the Marathi-speaking population residing in the border areas in Karnataka. Shinde said that two Cabinet ministers -- Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai -- will be assigned to bolster its ongoing legal tussle with Karnataka. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, NCP leader Sharad Pawar, Prithviraj Chavan, leaders of MES, among others were present during the meeting. Senior legal expert Vaidyanathan will represent Maharashtra during the hearing, he added.
Meanwhile, hitting out at the state government, Kannada leader Ashok Chandargi from Belagavi said that they are still in deep slumber. “Karnataka has not appointed a minister for the border row since 2018.
There is no high-powered committee for the issues, and the state’s Border Protection Committee has been lying defunct over the last three years. CM Basavaraj Bommai should appoint a minister in-charge for the issue,” he said.