Amid border row, 2 Maharashtra ministers to visit Belagavi

They will visit on visit on December 6, which coincides with Dr B R Ambedkar's death anniversary

Amid the raging Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute, two ministers - Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai - would be visiting Belagavi and speak to the Marathi-speaking people in the border district.

Earlier, they were to travel on December 3, however, now the two ministers would visit on December 6, which coincides with Mahaparinirvan Diwas, the death anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.

While Patil is the Higher Education minister Desai is the Excise minister.

Recently, at a high-powered committee meeting presided over by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and attended among others by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the two ministers were appointed as coordinating ministers on the issue.

It may be mentioned, when the BJP-Shiv Sena government was in power from 2014-19, Patil, who hails from Kolhapur, had handled a similar assignment.

“We would be going on December 6,” said Patil, adding that some organisations urged them to be present on Mahaparinirvan Diwas.

While Patil is a senior BJP leader and former state president, Desai is a senior Shiv Sena leader from Shinde-camp.

Maharashtra claims 814 villages along the borders in Belagavi, Karwar, Nippani and Bidar in Karnataka and wants them to be included in the state - as a large population here speaks Marathi.