Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-BJP government won't allow an inch of land from the state to go to Karnataka. The strong remarks came after Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's statement in Bengaluru on Tuesday that his government was seriously considering to claim 40 villages in Jat taluka of Sangli district in Maharashtra, stirring the border dispute between the neighbouring states again. In a strong response, Fadnavis said, "There is no question of parting with even a single village. We will not allow even a single village from Maharashtra to go to Karnataka. Moreover, it was a 2012 resolution passed by gram panchayats of Jat to move to Karnataka due to water crisis. But there is no new resolution." “The Jat taluka, which is drought prone, is being addressed through water projects,” he added. “Since the issue is pending before the Supreme Court, we will strongly contest our case. It has to be resolved within the legal framework,” Fadnavis said. "Even if we have to spill blood we will ensure not a single inch of Jat taluka goes to Karnataka. The state government is absolutely dedicated to preserving the integrity and oneness of Maharashtra,” Shinde said. He reiterated that Karnataka was referring to an old resolution. On Monday, Shinde convened a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the Maharashtra-Karnataka border row. After the meeting, he appointed a ministerial committee to look into it. At the same time, he announced pension to 'freedom fighters' in Marathi-speaking Belgavi and other parts of Karnataka. He also extended the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya scheme to these 'freedom fighters'. In response, on Tuesday, Basavraj also announced grants to Kannada schools in Maharashtra. He said the Karnataka government was seriously considering to claim 40 villages in Jat taluka in Maharashtra. Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra's Forest and Culture Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said, "The Maharashtra and Karnataka border dispute is due to former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who failed to resolve the lacuna in State Reorganization Commission Act. Had the then Congress leadership addressed the dispute both states would have been spared of the row. The matter is in the apex court. It will have to be resolved legally.” Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said, “Jat is represented by an MLA in Maharashtra assembly. It is an integral part of Maharashtra and despite that the statement of Karnataka CM is not only unfortunate but need to be condemned," said Pawar. In November 1956 after the division of states on the basis of language, Belgaum, Dharwad, Bijapur and Karwar from the then Bombay state were joined with the then Mysore state. Based on linguistic and cultural homogeneity, geographical contiguity, relative majority and village as a unit for demarcation of boundaries, Maharashtra staked claim on 865 villages. The Central government-appointed Mahajan Commission of 1967 recommended 264 out of 865 villages in Maharashtra while as per Karnataka's demand of 260 villages, it recommended transfer of 247 villages from Maharashtra. Maharashtra approached the Supreme Court in 2004.
