The Maharashtra-Karnataka border row rumbled into Wednesday after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut warned Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai he is playing with 'fire'. Raut - from ex-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's faction - also took a swipe at the splinter group that allied with the BJP to oust the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi and form its government - calling it 'weak'.
"Like China has entered... we will enter (Karnataka). We don't need anyone's permission. We want to solve it through discussion but Karnataka CM is igniting fire. There is a weak government in Maharashtra and (it) is not taking any stand..." Raut was quoted by ANI.
The Maharashtra politician, however, also said, 'This is one country... (and) this dispute can be resolved by discussion... " and that there is no underlying animosity with the people of Karnataka or their government.
Raut's comment was a reference to China's border aggression in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang earlier this month, which has triggered a row in Parliament with the opposition, including Thackeray's Sena, taking on the ruling BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Raut's comment was a reference to China's border aggression in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang earlier this month, which has triggered a row in Parliament with the opposition, including Thackeray's Sena, taking on the ruling BJP.
{{/usCountry}}READ | Why is Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh important to China?
The comment also comes as Karnataka plans to adopt a resolution in the state Assembly - both Houses - today about the dispute 'settled'.
The resolution, once passed, is expected to be sent to the Maharashtra government, as well as the centre and the Supreme Court.
READ | 'No dispute with Maharashtra': Karnataka assembly resolution likely
The resolution comes after Bommai and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde met union home minister Amit Shah last week.
After the meeting Shah told reporters the meeting was 'positive' and that the two CMs would work to 'a resolution... in a constitutional manner'.
READ | Amit Shah meets Karnataka-Maharashtra CMs: 'No state will…'
On Monday between 200 and 300 protesters looking to enter Karnataka from Maharashtra were stopped and turned back by the southern state's police.
That was a day after a massive gathering of demonstrators was witnessed near the border between the two states.
A top Karnataka police official told ANI no 'untoward incident' had happened.
READ | Maharashtra protesters detained in Karnataka, border row heats up
Earlier this week protests were planned in Karnataka by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti with support from the Nationalist Congress Party (part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi), but that too was dealt with swiftly; police in Maharashtra stopped protesters from crossing the border.
Police from the two states - both of which are ruled by the BJP (Maharashtra partially) - have clamped down on demonstrations on the festering dispute.
With input from ANI