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'Focus on Russia-Ukraine war but not K'tka, Maharashtra': Sanjay Raut targets PM
In his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in Saamana, the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Raut said that the Prime Minister was "willing to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict but not internal issues", adding that these "are not signs of a good leader".
Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his latest article in mouthpiece of his party over the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute. Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a meeting with Chief Ministers of both the states - Eknath Shinde and Basavraj Bommai - over the matter earlier this week and said a six-minister-team will oversee the matter. Even as the Maharashtra government has said a proposal will passed in the assembly on the issue, the attacks from the opposition continue.
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In his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in Saamana, the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Raut said that the Prime Minister was "willing to mediate the Russia-Ukraine conflict but not internal issues", adding that these "are not signs of a good leader". “The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka was a struggle for humanity, and not a fight between people and governments of the two states,” Raut was quoted as saying in a report by 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,” Raut added, elaborating on the border dispute between the states.
On Amit Shah's meeting with Bommai and Shinde (Maharashtra), Raut said it is a good sign that the Union Home Minister Amit Shah took an initiative towards a bringing a resolution but questioned if the Centre will be able to take a "neutral stand".
Maharashtra has claimed Belagavi (currently under Karnataka) and surrounding areas in north Karnataka as parts of the state, citing the large Marathi-speaking population. The decades-old border dispute resurfaced after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai recently claimed that some villages in Maharashtra's Sangli district had passed a resolution to join the southern state due to a lack of basic facilities.
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On Saturday, Maharashtra's opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which includes Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), National Congress Party (NCP), and Congress, held a mass foot march in Mumbai called "Halla Bol," where top leaders such as Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar were seen taking part. The protest march was held in opposition to the Eknath Shinde government to draw attention to recent issues such as border disputes with Karnataka and state projects being shifted to other states.
The protest can be seen as the MVA leaders' first combined show of strength since the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Nationalist Congress Party, and Congress-led government collapsed in the state after Eknath Shinde and his supporters joined hands with the BJP.
(With inputs from PTI)
