Dub Marathi-speaking areas on Karnataka border as UT, says Uddhav

After the recent war of words between leaders from Maharashtra and Karnataka over the border dispute, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday made a strong case for declaring the areas dominated by Marathi-speaking people on the state’s border with Karnataka as a Union Territory until the Supreme Court delivered a final verdict on the issue.

At a function to release a book on the boundary dispute between the two states, Thackeray took an aggressive posture and strongly criticised the Karnataka government over the alleged atrocities on the Marathispeaking population in those areas, and said there was a need to fight to win the case for their inclusion in Maharashtra.

He also lashed out at the Karnataka government saying that when the case was being heard in the Supreme Court, it had done a disservice by renaming Belgaum to Belagavi, giving it the status of a second capital, constructing a legislature and holding one session of the legislature. ‘‘Isn't this contempt of court?’’ Thackeray asked.