Mumbai: Political grandstanding by the Maharashtra and Karnataka governments over a border dispute has led to an escalation of tensions, with vehicles bearing Maharashtra number plates being targeted in Belagavi in the neighbouring state Tuesday and Karnataka buses being defaced in Pune.
This came amid simmering tension in both states over the nearly seven-decade-old border dispute involving Maharashtra’s claims over 800-odd Marathi-speaking villages in Belagavi and adjacent areas in Karnataka.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is at the helm in Karnataka and is part of the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, finds itself on a sticky wicket with the border row flaring up.
The political finger-pointing began in earnest when two Maharashtra ministers cancelled their plan to visit Belagavi Tuesday following the Karnataka government’s vehement objections to it. The ministers claimed they had “rescheduled” their visit because they did not wish for any untoward incident to take place on Mahaparinirvan Diwas, the death anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar.
However, opposition parties in Maharashtra immediately pounced on the opportunity to corner the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-BJP government for not adequately protecting the state’s interests.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar warned Tuesday that he would visit Belagavi if the situation was not brought to normalcy within 24 hours.
In Mumbai, Pawar said that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed him that he had spoken to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai about the violence, but “nothing had changed” even after this .
“If the situation is not brought to normalcy within 24 hours, then I along with other leaders will have to personally go to Belgaum (another name for Belagavi) to support people there.”
“Whatever is happening since the last few weeks, it was expected that both CMs of Maharashtra and Karnataka should have taken initiatives to restore normalcy but it has not been done and instead a different turn has been given to this situation,” Pawar added.
NCP leader Ajit Pawar also lashed out at the Maharashtra government for its “failure” Tuesday.
“To conceal their failure, they are giving frivolous excuses. December 6 is Mahaparinirvan Diwas and it has always been so. Did they not know this when they planned their visit for 6 December? They should now give us the next date of the visit if they are claiming to have postponed it.”
He added: “Today, the CM of another state, who belongs to the same party, is giving ultimatums to Maharashtra ministers to not come and visit his state. And Maharashtra is listening to him.”
On Monday, leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi parties— the NCP, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and Congress — held a joint meeting and decided to hold a 17 December protest rally in Mumbai against the state government.
“Maharashtra is being insulted constantly. And for the first time, we are saying seeds of separatism are being sowed in the state,” said Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray Monday.
“Some villages say they want to go to Karnataka, some say Telangana, some Gujarat. There is a strategy to break Maharashtra. Karnataka is trying to claim a lot of cities in Maharashtra. The question now is whether Maharashtra even has a government. When will Maharashtra show it has a Chief Minister?” he asked.
The border dispute dates to the 1950s, when states were reorganised on linguistic lines. In this exercise, Belagavi and other parts of the erstwhile Bombay presidency were made part of Mysore state (renamed to Karnataka in 1973) but Maharashtra had challenged this decision with the claim that these regions had a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. In 2004, Maharashtra moved the Supreme Court to resolve the dispute.
Also Read: Pensions, aid to schools — Shinde & Bommai revive Maharashtra-Karnataka border tussle
What led to latest flare-up between states?
The festering border dispute was revived when Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced a fortnight back that pensions would be given to the families of “martyrs” of the border row, along the lines of those given to freedom fighters.
Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai responded by announcing grants for Kannada-medium schools in Maharashtra. He also said a pension would be granted to Maharashtra-based Kannadigas who took part in the ekikaran (unification) movement of Kannada-speaking areas.
The war of words between the two sides grew shriller in subsequent days as Maharashtra proposed to send two ministers — Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai — to Belagavi but met with opposition from Karnataka.
Maharashtra had appointed Patil and Desai as the coordinating ministers for the border row. They were scheduled to visit Belagavi to attend a programme organised by a pro-Maharashtra organisation on 6 December. They were earlier slated to go on 3 December.
Last week, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s office wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s office urging Maharashtra ministers not to visit Belagavi as it could escalate tensions.
Reacting sharply, Fadnavis said Monday that no one could stop anyone from visiting. “In any area within independent India, no one can stop us from visiting any area. No one is afraid to visit. We are discussing it, and the CM will soon take a call on the issue.”
However, Desai confirmed that the trip had been deferred after all.
“We have not cancelled the visit. We have rescheduled it. It is Mahaparinirvan Din, and on this occasion, we do not want our visit to cause any untoward incident in Belagavi,” he told reporters Tuesday. “We were going in peace. But the Karnataka government painted our visit in a different light. What they did and said about our visit is wrong.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, violence erupted at Hirebagwadi near Belagavi where vehicles coming from Maharashtra were attacked. This, since the delegation was supposed to visit the state. The Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSRTC) subsequently suspended bus services to Karnataka.
There have also been reports of retaliatory attacks. In Pune, for instance, Shiv Sena (UBT) workers reportedly defaced Karnataka buses and wrote “Jai Maharashtra” on them. Some members of the Shiv Sena (UBT) were also detained when they tried to enter Karnataka.
Karnataka-Maharashtra border row | Belagavi: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) party workers were detained as they tried to enter Karnataka. pic.twitter.com/0Aa6ZOdaii
— ANI (@ANI) December 6, 2022
Deputy Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has reportedly expressed his displeasure over the situation to the Karnataka CM, with Bommai assuring him that vehicles would be protected and the situation would be brought under control.
However, MVA leaders have slammed the state government for its failure to represent Maharashtra.
ThePrint tried to contact Devendra Fadnavis and other BJP leaders via phone and text to seek a comment, but did not get a response. This copy will be updated if a response is received.
Call for central govt intervention
Maharashtra opposition leader Sharad Pawar said Tuesday that the situation is getting tense, hinting that this might be intentional ahead of the 2023 assembly elections in Karnataka.
He has also urged MPs that since the winter session of Parliament is beginning from Wednesday, they should take up the situation of Maharashtra to the Union Home Minister. He said that Centre should stop being a mute spectator when the Karnataka CM is inciting ‘anti-Maharashtra’ protests.
“Even if then the violence is not controlled, then it will be a failure of the Union government and Karnataka government. Maharashtra has taken a patient position so far but patience has limits,” Pawar said.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)
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