New Delhi: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday (December 18, 2022) slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mediating in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war but ignoring the simmering Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. 


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"PM Modi mediates in the Russia-Ukraine war but turns a blind eye to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. This is not a sign of a good politician," he alleged in his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the party mouthpiece Saamana. 


Raut also said that the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka was a struggle for humanity and not a fight between the people and governments of the two states. 


"The struggle of the Marathi-speaking population in Belagavi and nearby areas who were included in Karnataka against their wishes during the reorganisation of states, cannot be crushed cruelly," the Rajya Sabha MP said. 


"If the central government and the Supreme Court cannot resolve the issue, where should one seek justice from," he asked. 


The Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Karnataka's Belagavi district, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of the southern state. Karnataka, however, considers the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.


The decades-old border dispute has intensified recently with vehicles from either side being targeted, leaders from both states weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists detained by police amid a tense atmosphere in the border district of Belagavi.


Sanjay Raut said that "it is good" that Union Home Minister Amit Shah took an initiative towards resolving the issue. He, however, questioned whether the central government will take a neutral stand and demanded that parliament should find a solution to the border dispute. 


"Instead of expecting the Supreme Court to redirect the case to parliament, what is the harm if parliament finds a solution to this at the earliest," he suggested. 


The Shiv Sena leader said that Karnataka CM Bommai should have held talks with the organisations and leaders of Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi to resolve the dispute instead of making provocative statements against Maharashtra. 


"It is clear that Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde is weak to confront Bommai's aggressive stand of claiming areas of Maharashtra," he said. 


During the meeting of the two chief ministers called by Shah over the issue, it was decided that the status quo should be maintained, Raut added.