NCP TAKES MAHA BORDER ISSUE TO PM

The NCP has knocked at the door of Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to resolve the long-standing Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. The PM should take an initiative to merge Marathi-speaking villages on the border region with Maharashtra, said deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.

The Karnataka government’s act is unjust and inhuman as it has been committing atrocities on Marathi-speaking people in the border region. The injustice meted out to these people should be stopped immediately, said Pawar in a letter written to Modi.

More than 60 years have passed since the formation of Maharashtra state including Mumbai. However, hundreds of Marathi-speaking villages like Belgaum, Karwar, Bidra, Bhalki, Nipani on the Karnataka border region are still out of Maharashtra. The PM should resolve the issue and ensure justice to Marathi people in these areas, he added.

The Marathi-speaking people living in border areas in Karnataka have been demanding that they should be merged with Maharashtra. The dispute between the two states over these border areas is pending before the Supreme Court.

“The legal battle on the border dispute will continue in the Supreme Court and Maharashtra will definitely emerged victorious. But we want you to resolve the issue at the earliest and ensure justice,” said Pawar.

A Samyukta Maharashtra state including Marathi-speaking areas of Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar, Bhalki, Nipani is a dream of every Maharashtrian and we will not rest till it is realised, he stated.

Earlier, this year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had demanded that the Marathi speaking villages at the border region with Karnataka be declared as a union territory.