On Maharashtra Day, Ajit Pawar Reignites Karnataka Border Row; Bommai Responds

Deputy CM Pawar said that the fight to include more Marathi-speaking villages in Maharashtra continues.

The Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute was raked up again on Maharashtra Day.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute was raked up again on Mahrashtra Day on Sunday, 1 May, as the state's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar asserted on the occasion that the fight to include more Marathi-speaking villages in Maharashtra continues.

"On this Maharashtra Day, we still regret that several Marathi-speaking villages at the state border including Belgaum, Nipai, and Karwar couldn't be part of the state yet. I assure you we'll keep supporting the fight by the people of these villages to become a part of Maharashtra," Pawar was quoted as saying.

Pawar's remark was met with retaliation from the political leaders of Karnataka.

Taking a jibe at the Maharashtra government, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said, "Whenever there's a political crisis in Maharashtra, and it's there now, their entire government hits rock bottom. They have created this language bogey now, just to survive politically."

Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar said that while there may be some dissatisfaction on the border division, the two states should not interfere with each other.

"We don't want to get involved in Maharashtra borders and even they shouldn't get involved in Karnataka's border. We are very firm and dedicated. Our people are good and we can handle them. Some may not be satisfied, like when the country was divided. Definitely there might have been problems. But, we should not interfere in each other's states," he told The Republic.

The Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Row

Various Maharashtra governments have claimed that some parts of Karnataka like Belagavi, Karwar, and Nippani are Marathi-speaking regions and contended that these areas must come under their state.

Karnataka, on the other hand, has maintained that the region is integral to their state and that they have built a Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, where a legislative session is held at least once a year.

The dispute between the two states began in the 1950s, after the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. The Act made Belgaum and 10 talukas of the Bombay State – part of erstwhile Bombay Presidency – part of the then Mysore State, now Karnataka. The border dispute has been pending in the Supreme Court for several years.

In January 2021, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray had said that the disputed area between the two states must be carved out as a Union Territory until the differences are resolved.