E-Paper
K’taka Bhavan becomes bone of contention between state, Uddhav-led Sena
Kolhapur district is located about 120 kms from Belagavi in Karnataka which has been at the centre of a border dispute between since 1956.
The proposed construction of a Karnataka Bhavan on land owned by a mutt in Kolhapur district of Maharashtra has reignited the long-standing border dispute between people of the two states.
Earlier this month, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai had laid the foundation stone for the Karnataka Bhavan on the campus of he Lingayat Kaneri Mutt in Siddhagiri in Kolhapur district.
Local functionaries of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction on Monday hit out at the neighbouring state’s government over the move.
Speaking to reporters, the district chief of the faction, Sanjay Pawar, said Marathi people in Karnataka were suffering because of administration’s move to enforce the use of Kannada by government notifications.
“The state (Karnataka) has made it mandatory to keep business records only in Kannada. Marathis are indirectly forced to learn the language. The survival chances of Marathis in Karnataka were getting worse, which is why the party has decided to deal aggressively on the matter,” he said.
Kolhapur district is located about 120 kms from Belagavi in Karnataka which has been at the centre of a border dispute between since 1956. The Marathi-speaking people in these areas have been protesting for inclusion in Maharashtra and have often alleged that Karnataka government has been trying to suppress their agitation as well as imposing Kannada language on them. The government of Karnataka has maintained that the villages are an integral part of the state.
“The entire world knows the demolishing ability of the Shiva Sena. Hope Karnataka understood what we mean,” Pawar added.
The land on which is the Bhavan is to proposed to be constructed in privately owned by the mutt.
Responding to the Sena faction’s threat, Karnataka minister R Ashoka said the construction will not stop.
Reacting to the veiled threat of “demolition”, Ashoka said the Sena should remember that Karnataka has dozens of statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
“No Kannadiga opposed while establishing Shivaji statues in Karnataka. Hope you understood what we mean,” he said.
