BJP's C T Ravi plays down K'taka-Maharashtra border dispute over Belagavi

BJP national general secretary C T Ravi on Tuesday tried to play down the border issue between Maharashtra and Karnataka over the Belagavi district, by saying that both states share cultural relations.

Ravi, who is in charge of the party’s Goa affairs, was here to conduct a meeting of top party officials ahead of a much-speculated reshuffle of the state cabinet.

Ravi said that the BJP is keen on creating positive connections rather than triggering further debates on the issue.

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“We are not here to debate, but to connect. They have a border dispute, but they (Maharashtra and Karnataka) also share cultural relations,” Ravi told reporters when asked to comment on the controversy related to Belagavi.

“They have the same culture, but their language is different. But there is a relation in the languages too. There are many common words in both languages. The matter is currently in court, we need to obey court’s order,” he also said.