Its leaders stopped from entering Belagavi, Maharashtra closes ranks to protest

Strongly objecting to Karnataka’s move, Shinde and Fadnavis said Maharashtra Assembly will pass a resolution in the ongoing session, expressing solidarity with people of disputed border villages who want to stay in Maharashtra.

In the House, Ajit Pawar raised the issue of a notice by Belagavi Collector to Lok Sabha MP Dhairyasheel Mane, barring his entry in Belagavi. “Both the chief minister (Shinde) and deputy chief minister (Fadnavis) held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently, where directions were given to exercise restraint. Despite that, the Karnataka government is issuing prohibitory orders to elected representatives. How can they stop a Member of Parliament from travelling there,” Pawar asked.

Shinde said his government is committed to resolve the border issue and was the first to hold a meeting on the issue with Shah. “We are committed to resolve the matter unlike the previous governments. We don’t want to play politics and expect political unity on this issue,” he said.

Fadnavis said the Maharashtra government will condemn the action by the Karnataka government. “Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka have every right to stage protests in a democratic way. If the Karnataka government is prohibiting them from protesting, it is against their constitutional right. Elected representatives who had gone there to extend support were detained. We condemn it,” he said.

In Belagavi, Karnataka police prevented many NCP and Sena leaders and workers from entering the state as the winter session got underway with massive police bandobast at the borders of the state. Additional DGP (law and order) Alok Kumar inspected the areas.

The Madhyavarti Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MMES), a pro-Maharashtra organisation that has raised the issue for decades to make Belagavi district and other places part of Maharashtra, had planned a protest but the district administration denied permission citing law and order issues.

The plan to hold a protest at the vaccine depot in Belagavi was denied by police, which led to protests at the borders of the state.

With more than 61 organisations having sought permission from the district administration to hold protests during Assembly sessions, Belagavi city has turned into a police fortress. Vehicles from Maharashtra border are being checked. Police sources said nearly 5,000 police personnel, including six SPs, 11 additional SPs and 43 DySPs, are deployed.

The developments in Belagavi echoed in the Maharashtra Assembly in Nagpur. Before the start of proceedings, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) held a protest on the stairs of the House, demanding justice to the people in border areas and condemning Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai for his provocative statements.

Shiv Sena MP Dhairyasheel Patil, who wanted to visit Belagavi to participate in the MMES rally, was prohibited from entering Karnataka. The Belagavi district administration issued a letter asking him not to visit. Senior NCP leader and former minister Hassan Mushriff, who led the delegation to participate in the rally, was also restricted from entering Belagavi.

Mushriff, who represents Kagal constituency in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, staged a sit-in at Konnali toll naka along Maharashtra-Karnataka border. “I skipped the state Winter Session since I wanted to participate in the MMES rally. How could I not express solidarity with people of Maharashtra who are being ill-treated in Karnataka? However, police stopped our entry. We were lathicharged. So, we held a demonstration at the toll naka,” he said.

Mane also expressed disappointment over being not allowed entry into Karnataka. “The Karnataka government has stopped my entry. We will fight (protest),” he said.

In Maharashtra House, as NCP MLA Rohit Pawar raised the matter of leaders from the state being stopped, Fadnavis replied that no government has a right to arrest an elected representative of Maharashtra over peaceful protests and the state government will look into it and ensure it is stopped.

In the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Peasant and Workers Party legislator Jayant Patil asked the state government why it is not moving the apex court.

Fadnavis said Maharashtra government will pursue the case in the SC. “We will also bring to the notice of the court about today’s actions,” he said.

While the Karnataka authorities justified the act of stopping Maharashtra leaders from entering Belagavi as part of its preventive measures, CM Bommai said, “MMES has been indulging in such activities (protests) for the last 50 years. We know how to control and keep them in check.”