Patel to discuss border issue with Pawar panel

BANGALORE, MARCH 24: Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel on Wednesday said that the Maharashtra Government had set up a high-powered commi...

BANGALORE, MARCH 24: Karnataka Chief Minister J H Patel on Wednesday said that the Maharashtra Government had set up a high-powered committee headed by Congress leader Sharad Pawar to discuss the border issue, but Karnataka would make it clear that only an acceptance of the Mahajan Committee report could form the basis of any such talks.

He told members in the Legislative Assembly that Maharashtra Chief Minister Narayan Rane had written to him three days ago informing him that the Pawar Committee had been appointed to discuss the Belgaum issue with him.

8220;Our stand is clear. The Mahajan Committee report is final8221;, he told the Lower House. But the State was prepared to discuss related issues such as the development of border villages which were suffering as a result of the conflict between the states. However, this would be conditional to an acceptance of the Mahajan report by Maharashtra, he added.

The issue came up during zero hour when Kannada Chaluvali Paksha member Vatal Nagaraj drew the attention of the House to the delegation led by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti MES members to the Prime Minister and various political party leaders in Delhi, pressing for the transfer of Belgaum and 840 villages to Maharashtra.

Nagaraj accused Patel of doing nothing in the matter when he should be leading a delegation to Delhi himself to insist on the implementation of the Mahajan Committee report.

When senior Bharatiya Janata Party member B S Yediyurappa announced that his party would lead a delegation to Delhi on the issue, MES member Narayanrao Tarale got up to defend his party by asking what was wrong in presenting a memorandum to the Prime Minister. After all, he said, it was an issue that had to be decided by Parliament and not the State.

Leader of the Opposition Mallikarjun M Kharge intervened to say that the MES was raking up the Belgaum issue in view of the forthcoming elections. Karnataka should not create the impression that Maharashtra was the injured party, he cautioned the Chief Minister.

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In response to these remarks, Patel announced the meeting with the Pawar committee. He also chastised the MES member for his remark by saying that in that case, the MES members should speak in Parliament. 8220;Do not waste your breath here8221; he said, adding, 8220;We have all spoken in Kannada. You are responding to that. It shows that you can speak Kannada too.8221;

BJP member Kumble Sundar Rao stood up to ask the Government why it was silent on the Kasargod issue which had also figured in the Mahajan report. Party colleague Sadanand Gowda wanted the Chief Minister to write to the Kerala Chief Minister about it, the way the Maharashtra Chief Minister had written to him. BJP members I M Jayaram Shetty and Rukmaya Pujari joined them in demanding that the Kasargod issue be taken up.

In response, Patel said that the main problem was between Karnataka and Maharashtra. 8220;Let us discuss Kasargod later. If Maharashtra accepts the Mahajan report, then we can convince the Kerala Chief Minister about Kasargod8221; he added.

BJP member Yogesh Bhat retorted that Karnataka did not have the same concern for Kasargod as Maharashtra did for Belgaum.