Three ministers and one MP from Maharashtra have been prohibited by the Belagavi government from accessing this border region since they are scheduled to attend the “black day” event that Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) is hosting on November 1, which is Karnataka creation day.
They have been threatened with legal action by Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara if they engage in activities or make remarks that are critical of Kannada or Karnataka.
According to official sources, Maharashtra Ministers Shambhuraje Desai, Chandrakant Patil, Deepak Kesarkar, and MP Dhairyasheel Mane are anticipated to attend the MES function.
MES regards ‘Karnataka Rajyotsava’ as a dark day annually and has long been working for the union of the state’s many Marathi-speaking villages and districts with Maharashtra.
They had just visited with Ekanath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, in Kolhapur, asking for his help on the border problem and asking him to send delegates to the MES event.
Citing the need to maintain peace and order, three ministers and one MP were prohibited from visiting Belagavi between October 31 at 6 a.m. and November 2 at 6 p.m.
Authorities anticipate that they may give provocative statements while in town. Additionally, they could be gheraoed by Kannada activists, which might lead to conflicts with MES activists.
“We have raised awareness among the police in the border regions of Maharashtra, including Belagavi and Bidar. In answer to a query, Parameshwara informed reporters in Bengaluru, “We have already deployed Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) platoons at places where there is information about trouble breaking out.”
On the occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava, MES observes “Black day” in Belagavi, when ministers from Maharashtra visit and give speeches, he claimed. “We oversee these kinds of events annually. We have already made the required preparations there for this year as well.”
“If anyone comes inside Karnataka’s borders and makes statements against Karnataka, Kannada, Karnataka land and water, we will take legal action against them,” Parameshwara said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar condemned the observance of “black day” and said that the administration will take all necessary steps to safeguard the rights of the state’s citizens and Kannadigas residing in Maharashtra.
“Whoever it is, it is gravely incorrect… He addressed reporters, “We have to defend the interests of our state and the state’s citizens.
“The people of the state and the Kannadigas there (in Maharashtra) will be protected by our government by taking all necessary measures.” Senior police officers and the Home Minister met with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who gave them the go-ahead to exercise caution,” he said.
The linguistic reorganization of states in 1957 gave rise to the border dispute. Because Belagavi had a sizable Marathi-speaking population and over 800 Marathi-speaking border villages that are now in Karnataka, Maharashtra claimed the area that had been a part of the former Bombay Presidency.
Karnataka insists that the linguistic boundaries drawn in accordance with the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report and the States Reorganisation Act are definitive.
Karnataka constructed the ‘Suvarna Vidhana Soudha’ at Belagavi, which was modeled after the Vidhana Soudha, the State Legislature and Secretariat’s Bengaluru headquarters, to demonstrate that Belagavi is an essential component of the state.
