BENGALURU: Protests broke out in parts of Karnataka on Monday, including in the district host city of Belagavi on Monday in a strong condemnation of Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeraystatement on the delicate issue of borders. Political leaders who crossed party lines strongly attacked Thackeray.
“This is not about giving an inch of land from Karnataka to Maharashtra. It should stop issuing statements just for political reasons,” Karnataka Prime Minister BS Yediyurappa told reporters on Monday.
“I am hurt by the comments of Maharashtra’s chief ministers that may disturb the prevailing harmonious atmosphere. I hope that Shri Uddhav Thackeray, as a true Indian, will show his commitment and respect for the principles of federalism in letter and spirit,” Yediyurappa said in a tweet. .
Thackeray said on Sunday that his government is committed to bringing into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are the majority.
This will be the “true tribute” to the martyrs of the cause, the Chief Ministers’ Office (CMO) said in a tweet.
Maharashtra claims Belagavi (formerly called Belgaum) and some other areas, part of the former Bombay presidency but currently in Karnataka, for linguistic reasons.
Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, a regional organization fighting for the merger of Belagavi and some other border areas with Maharashtra, observes January 17 as the ‘day of martyrs’ for those who gave their lives for the cause in 1956.
“Bringing the Marathi-speaking and cultural areas occupied by Karnataka into Maharashtra will be the true tribute to those who accepted martyrdom in the border battle. We are united and committed to it. Respect the martyrs with this promise,” the CMO tweeted.
Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belagavi, Karwar and Nippani, which are part of Karnataka, and maintains that the majority of the population in these areas speak Marathi.
On Monday, pro-Kannada organizations held demonstrations and burned Thackeray’s effigy in parts of the state.
Some pro-Marathi activists led by local units of Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti had organized the ‘Martyrs Day’ in Belagavi on Sunday.
They demanded the merger of Belagavi, Karwar, Nippani, Bidar, and Bhalki with Maharashtra.
Thackeray’s statement came on a day when Union Interior Minister Amit Shah and Yediyurappa, along with their cabinet colleagues and BJP Lawmakers were present in Belagavi, on the border with Maharashtra, to commemorate the victory of the BJP-backed village panchayat members in the recent elections.
Yediyurappa added on Monday that the Marathi people have been living in harmony with Kannadigas in Karnataka.
Similarly, the Kannadigas who live in the border districts of Maharashtra live in harmony with the Marathi people there.
Karnataka’s prime minister condemned Thackeray’s comments saying that they can disturb peace and harmony between people.
Attacking Thackeray, former Prime Minister and Congressional Leader Siddaramaiah tweeted: “Belagavi is an integral part of Karnataka. Do not try to instigate us by raising the issue that is already resolved.”
Warning Thackeray not to politicize the issue that has already been decided, Siddaramaiah reminded him that he is not only a Shiv Sena activist, but also a senior minister responsible for a state.
Attacking Thackeray, JDS leader and former Prime Minister HD Kumaraswamy said: “Looking at your tweets, it looks like a statement issued by a terrorist.”
In his tweets, Kumaraswamy compared Thackeray’s statement to Chinese expansionism.
“Uddhav Thackeray’s irresponsible declaration that ‘the occupied territories of Karnataka will be annexed to Maharashtra’ sounds like Chinese expansionism. Such expansionism will jeopardize the harmony between the linguistically formed states,” Kumaraswamy said in a statement.
Senior Deputy Minister Laxman Savadi, State Interior Minister Basavaraj Bommai, and several others condemned Thackeray’s statement.
.
