Border Row: Declare Belagavi Union Territory, Violence Was With 'Delhi's Support', Says Sanjay Raut

Alleging that violence over the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue was supported by Delhi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said a conspiracy is afoot to break Maratha self-esteem.

The Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute escalated further on Wednesday when Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut demanded that Belagavi be declared a Union Territory. He further alleged that the incidents of violence in Belagavi over the past few days could not have taken place without "Delhi's support".

“Don't we know what is happening? There is a BJP government at the Centre, there is a BJP government in Karnataka and also in Maharashtra… If CM Eknath Shinde has the guts, let him call for Belagavi to be declared a Union Territory," Raut said.

Trucks bearing Maharashtra number plates were attacked in Belagavi and sprayed with black paint on Tuesday. Maharashtra buses were also pelted with stones. Later, buses of the Karnataka State Transport Corporation were vandalised. As tensions mounted, several people had to be detained.

Sanjay Raut also lashed out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, claiming that the state government was “weak and helpless” against such attacks. He alleged that Karnataka was

Raut in a tweet said: “Without Delhi's support, Marathi people and vehicles of Maharashtra cannot be attacked in Belgaum. Workers of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti have been arrested. The game of finishing Marathi self-esteem by breaking its backbone has started. The attacks in Belgaum are part of the same conspiracy.”

“Chief Minister Shinde says revolution was made three months ago. The revolution is visible. Maharashtra has never been so embarrassed… Those who say that they left the Shiv Sena out of self-respect are sitting with their mouths shut today. This is hypocrisy,” he said in another tweet.

Citing a media report that quoted Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai as saying: “Shut up, or it will be time to go to prison again to rest,” Raut claimed that law and judiciary were being pressured.

Reacting to Raut’s tweet, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule warned the Rajya Sabha member to refrain from making "baseless and provocative comments". In a tweet, he advised Raut to show some restraint.

Raut later said that people are ready to march to Belagavi under the leadership of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar.

The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra had laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency as it has a sizable Marathi-speaking population.

Bommai recently sought a merger of "Kannada-speaking" areas in Maharashtra's Akkalkot and Solapur and had also said some villages in Jat taluka in Sangli district wanted to join the southern state.