Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday lashed out at the politicians in Maharashtra for raising the border issue, and asserted that his state won't cede even an inch of land to the neighbouring state. Bommai's reaction came a day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said his government would continue to support the fight of Marathi-speaking people residing in border areas of Karnataka.
"We stand firmly by our decisions, they (Maharashtra) also know it. I strongly urge the politicians of Maharashtra not to use language bogey or border issue for their political survival," Bommai said.
Karnataka's stand on the border issue is very clear, and the state is not going to yield for anything, he said.
The chief minister further said that there are many Kannada speaking areas in Maharashtra and his government is mulling to take up their cause, too.
On Sunday, while addressing a gathering in Pune city on the occasion of Maharashtra's foundation day, Pawar had said the state would continue to support the fight of Marathi-speaking people residing in border areas of Karnataka to include those places in Maharashtra.
"While we are celebrating 62 years of formation of Maharashtra, we regret that the Marathi-speaking villages in Bidar, Bhalki, Belgaum, Karwar, Nippani and other places in Karnataka could not be merged with Maharashtra. The citizens of Maharashtra and its government are with their fight to be part of Maharashtra. I assure that we would keep supporting their fight till these villages become part of Maharashtra," Pawar said.
Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belgaum, Karwar nd Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending that majority population in these areas is Marathi-speaking.
The case of Maharashtra-Karnataka bounding dispute is pending before the Supreme Court.
