‘We are Baahubalis’: Shiv Sena minister to march for rights of Marathi-speaking Belgaum locals

Mumbai city news: Diwakar Raote said Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ inspired him

Transport minister and senior Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote will participate in the solidarity march organised by the Marathi-speaking residents of Belgaum in protest against senior Karnataka minister R Roshan Baig’s remarks that action will be taken against anyone found chanting ‘Jai Maharashtra’ in the region.

Minister Diwakar Raote called the march a protest against the atrocities committed on the Marathi-speaking population by the Karnataka government. (HT File Photo)

Raote said he was spurred to participate in the march by chief Uddhav Thackeray’s editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’. “Uddhavji urged us to show the Karnataka government that we are no less than Baahubalis. We are participating on his directions,” said Raote. He called the march a protest against the atrocities committed on the Marathi-speaking population by the Karnataka government.

Belgaum is a disputed territory. Despite a majority of its population speaking Marathi, it is still a part of Karnataka.