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Maharashtra’s MVA slams Karnataka dy CM for seeking UT status for Mumbai
The NCP called the demand baseless and pointless while the Shiv Sena said those making it should not forget Uddhav Thackeray is the Maharashtra chief minister
The constituents of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on Thursday slammed Karnataka deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi for demanding that Mumbai be declared a Union Territory with the Congress calling it Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “sinister design” to weaken Maharashtra. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) called the demand baseless and pointless while the Shiv Sena said those making it should not forget Uddhav Thackeray is the Maharashtra chief minister.
Savadi’s statement came in response to Thackeray call for declaring the disputed areas between the two states a Union Territory until the Supreme Court decides on a pending petition over Maharashtra’s claims over Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka. “Earlier, we were part of the Mumbai region. My demand and the demand of the people in this region is that Mumbai be attached to Karnataka. I demand the central government to ensure Mumbai should be declared as Union Territory. The issue will be resolved once we demand Mumbai,” said Savadi.
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Congress leader Sachin Sawant said Savadi’s demand exposes the plot of the BJP-led central government to weaken Mumbai and Maharashtra. “...attempts were made to shift the international financial centre and also trade to Gujarat. The central government has been a silent spectator as its ultimate aim is to make Mumbai a Union Territory. ...[Uttar Pradesh chief minister] Yogi Adityanath came [to Mumbai] and tried to woo Bollywood to his state. The Centre is using all central agencies like ED [Enforcement Directorate] and CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] to trouble the businessmen and Bollywood. It is all the part of the design to weaken Mumbai.”
Sawant warned the BJP would face the wrath of Maharashtra’s people if it tried to play with their sentiments.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said his Karnataka counterpart wants to please the people of Karnataka. “The demand made by the chief minister [Thackeray] has no connection with what Karnataka deputy chief minister has said in his response. As the head of Maharashtra, he [Thackeray] only said that until the dispute is resolved, declare the disputed areas as Union Territory. What is the connection between those areas and Mumbai?” he asked. “His [Savadi] demand is baseless and pointless.”
He said Marathi speaking people used to elect their lawmakers, corporators and even the mayor from the disputed areas but to weaken their position, delimitation of the constituencies was done, and Kannadiga-populated areas were incorporated into them.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said the Marathi speaking people in Belgaum are deprived of the independence given to the people from Karnataka in Maharashtra. “In Maharashtra, we have never acted harshly against our brothers from Karnataka residing in Mumbai and Maharashtra. They are enjoying full independence here, running Kannada language schools and also getting government aid. They are running many literary, cultural and art-related organisations here but is the situation for Marathi-speaking people in Belgaum the same?”
He said Savadi’s remarks should not be given any importance. “The fight is to protect Marathi language and culture… The law will take its own course, but the Karnataka government should not forget that now the chief minister is Uddhav Thackeray.” He said a Marathi-speaking mayor was booked under sedition for taking the pro-Marathi stand. “This is nothing but the oppression of the Marathi-speaking citizens in the border areas.”
The Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute has its origin in the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. It made Belgaum and 10 talukas of Bombay State, once part of colonial Bombay Presidency, a part of the then Mysore state. Maharashtra opposed the move arguing Belgaum, Nipani and Karwar has a majority of Marathi speaking population and should ideally be a part of the state.
