Bommai for resolution of border row as per State Reorganisation Act

Belagavi, Dec 20: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Tuesday sought the cooperation of the Opposition members in both houses of legislature to pass a resolution reiterating the state’s stand on inter-state border row with Maharashtra as per the 1956 State Reorganisation Act.
“If everyone agrees, while giving the government’s reply on the border issue debate, we will pass a resolution reiterating the state’s stand in both Houses of legislature,” he said in the assembly, replying to LoP Siddaramaiah’s submissions.
He added: “In the Mahajan Report, there are two ways. As per the report, some villages under Solapur and Akkalkot will (be merged with Karnataka and some parts of Khanapur and Karwar areas will go to Maharashtra). Therefore I am saying we should discuss it (based on Mahajan report). Therefore, we should make this proposal. Instead we should stay with (the demarcation of boundaries made as per) the State Reorganisation Act.” Bommai replied to LoP Siddaramaiah’s submissions that “there is no question of any dispute, and the border issue is already settled with the Mahajan Commission report.”Making his submissions on the issue, Congress member HK Patil said Bommai should not have attended the meeting summoned by Union Home Minister Amit Shah because Maharashtra wanted to show that there was an existence of border issue, which is actually a settled issue. It is just Maharashtra’s ploy to keep the issue alive for reaping political mileage out of the border dispute, he said.
Patil also stated that Bommai should not have accepted the proposal for setting up a committee consisting of three ministers each from both the states because “the issue has already been settled.” Reacting to it, Bommai said the meeting was convened for the sake of maintanence of law and order, and in a federal setup, it was mandatory to attend it.
“In the meeting Shah clearly stated that the border dispute can only be solved through Constitutional and legal means. The case is before the Supreme Court, and it cannot be settled on the streets,” he said, adding that the ministerial committee from both sides is to maintain peace and to resolve smaller issues between the two states. The dispute had intensified in the last couple of weeks, with vehicles from either side being targeted, leaders from both the States weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists being detained by police amid a tense atmosphere in Belagavi. The Bommai-led government maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act.