Will incorporate ‘K’taka-occupied areas’: Uddhav

Mumbai, Jan. 18:

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said his government is committed towards incorporating into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority.

This will be the “true tribute” to martyrs of the cause, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said in a tweet.

Maharashtra claims Belgaum and some other areas, part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency but currently in Karnataka, on linguistic grounds.

Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, a regional organisation fighting for the merger of Belgaum and some other border areas with Maharashtra, observes January 17 as the ‘martyrs’ day’ for those who laid down their lives for the cause in 1956.

“Bringing Karnatakaoccupied Marathi-speaking and cultural areas in Maharashtra will be the true tribute to those who accepted martyrdom in the boundary battle. We are united and committed towards it. Respects to the martyrs with this promise,” the CMO tweeted.

Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending that the majority of population in these areas is Marathispeaking.

The dispute between the two states over Belgaum and other border areas is pending before the Supreme Court for many years.

Thackeray last year appointed Maharashtra ministers Eknath Shinde and Chhagan Bhujbal as cocoordinators to oversee the state government’s efforts to expedite the case related to the boundary dispute.

Protests erupted in parts of Karnataka on Monday including in the district headquarters city of Belagavi on Monday in a strong condemnation of Maharashtra Chief Minister’s statement on the sensitive border issue.

Political leaders cutting across party lines came down heavily on Thackeray.

“There is no question of giving even an inch of land from Karnataka to Maharashtra. He should give up issuing statements just for political reasons,” Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa told reporters on Monday.

“I am pained at

Maharashtra Chief Ministers remarks that can disturb the prevailing harmonious atmosphere. I expect Uddhav Thackeray, as a true Indian, to show his commitment and respect to the principles of federalism in letter and spirit,” Yediyurappa said in a tweet.

On Monday, pro-Kannada organisations held demonstrations and burnt Thackeray’s effigy in parts of the state.

A few pro-Marathi activists led by local units of Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti had organised the ‘Martyrs Day’ in Belagavi on Sunday.

They demanded merger of Belagavi, Karwar, Nippani, Bidar and Bhalki with Maharashtra.