PM Mediates In Russia-Ukraine War, But Turns A Blind Eye Towards Maha-K'taka Border Row: Raut
Sanjay Raut remarked that while PM Narendra Modi mediates in the Russia-Ukraine war, he ignored the simmering Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. it is "not a sign of a good politician," he said.
New Delhi: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by saying that on one hand, he mediates in the Russia-Ukraine war and on the other hand, he ignored the simmering Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. He added that it is "not a sign of a good politician".
In Saamana's 'Rokhthok', his weekly column, Raut said that the border dispute between both the states was a struggle for humanity rather than a fight between the people and the governments of the two states, reported news agency PTI.
"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," he stated.
Maharashtra for a long time has been making a claim over Belagavi and surrounding border areas in North Karnataka as a significant Marathi-speaking population lives there.
The border dispute is decades old however, it resurfaced when Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai recently tried to reclaim a few villages of the Sangli district in Maharashtra as theirs. Those villages passed a resolution to become a part of Karnataka due to a lack of basic facilities.
Due to not getting the apt interference into the matter, both states are on pins and needles. Raut asked that if Supreme Court and the central government can't resolve an issue then "where should the people seek justice from?"
Recently, Union Home minister Amit Shah took an initiative in resolving this conflict and met with the CM of both states. During the meeting of the two chief ministers summoned by Shah over the issue, it was reportedly determined that the status quo should be maintained.
Raut appreciated Amit Shah for taking the initiative to resolve this. He said, "it is good that Union Home Minister Amit Shah took an initiative towards resolving the issue, but the question is whether the central government will take a neutral stand".
He urged the parliament to 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 asserted that rather than making aggressive remarks against Maharashtra, Karnataka CM Bommai should have engaged in dialogue with the organisations and leaders of Marathi-speaking people in Belagavi to address the conflict.
He also alleged Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde of being too weak to deal with the issue. "It is clear that Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde is weak to confront Bommai's aggressive stand of claiming areas of Maharashtra," Raut remarked, as per PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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