Priyanka Chaturvedi. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the Centre to grant Union Territory status to Belagavi in Karnataka. She said it would resolve the long-standing boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Maharashtra has been laying claim to Belagavi and surrounding areas of Karnataka since 1966, as the region has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population.
On Monday (December 9, 2024), leaders from various political parties in Maharashtra, including Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, denounced the “repressive measures” employed by the Karnataka Police against activists of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), who were protesting in Belagavi. The protests coincide with the winter session of the Karnataka Assembly, which began on Monday (December 9, 2024) at Suvarna Vidhan Soudha in Belagavi, which the MES has been opposing.
Opposes detention
In her letter, Ms. Chaturvedi highlighted the growing tension in the region following the winter session of the Karnataka Assembly. She said the detention of activists and leaders of the MES, along with the State police’s actions to prevent “peaceful protests” such as the MES’s Maha Melava rally, had aggravated the situation.
“The dispute along the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary, including Belgaum, has been a long-standing issue,” she said, stressing that the lack of consensus between the two State governments had prolonged the matter.
SC directive
Referring to the Supreme Court’s 2022 directive to both States to refrain from taking unilateral actions until a verdict is delivered, she criticised the Karnataka Legislative Assembly for passing a resolution to block the ceding of Marathi-speaking areas to Maharashtra. In response, the Maharashtra Assembly countered with its own resolution to bring Marathi-speaking villages under its jurisdiction.
“The ongoing impasse underscores the contentious nature of this issue,” Ms. Chaturvedi said, adding that the Supreme Court’s hearings remain pending despite repeated pleas from the MES for expedited proceedings.
Arguing that the failure to resolve the dispute could lead to further unrest, she proposed granting Union Territory status to Belagavi as a potential solution. “This would help resolve the border dispute and ensure justice to the citizens while accommodating all linguistic communities through Central governance,” she wrote.
Decades-old issue
The Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute has been a politically and emotionally charged issue for decades, with Belagavi and surrounding areas remaining at the centre of the conflict. Maharashtra has been claiming the administrative rights over the 865 villages in Bidar, Belagavi, Karwar (Uttara Kannada) and Kalaburagi districts of Karnataka, since 1966. The matter is currently under the consideration of the Supreme Court.
Mr. Fadnavis had condemned the Congress government’s actions against Marathi-speaking citizens in Karnataka’s border areas, including Belagavi. He criticised Karnataka’s decision to oppose gatherings of Marathi-speaking people, calling it a violation of constitutional rights. He also expressed concern over a Karnataka Minister’s statement about removing the portrait of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar from the Karnataka Assembly, terming it “serious and unacceptable”.
Published – December 10, 2024 11:27 pm IST