Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti observes Martyrs' Day, announces protest on June 22

Belagavi: The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) on Monday observed Martyrs’ Day and paid tributes to those who lost their lives during the agitation related to the Karnataka-Maharashtra boundary dispute and opposition to the imposition of the Kannada language in June 1986.

The programme was held at the martyrs’ memorial at Hindalga village in Belagavi taluk. The memorial was constructed by the MES in memory of those who, according to the organisation, sacrificed their lives for the cause of the boundary dispute.

MES leaders and activists lit a torch at the memorial, offered floral tributes to portraits of the martyrs, and raised slogans commemorating their sacrifices. They also reiterated their demand for the merger of Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka with Maharashtra.

Addressing the gathering, MES president Prakash Margale announced that the organisation would stage a protest on June 22 against the Karnataka government’s directive requiring commercial establishments to display signboards with 60%  content in Kannada and the remaining 40% in other languages.

Margale also demanded that government documents be made available in Marathi until the Supreme Court delivers its verdict on Maharashtra’s petition concerning the Karnataka-Maharashtra boundary dispute. He appealed to Marathi-speaking people to participate in the protest in large numbers.

He said that following the June 22 agitation, an MES delegation would meet Members of Parliament from Maharashtra in New Delhi and urge them to take up the boundary dispute issue with the Centre.

“Maharashtra has 48 MPs in the Lok Sabha. They should exert pressure on the Union government to resolve the long-pending boundary dispute instead of merely extending schemes and benefits,” he said.

MES working president and former MLA Manohar Kinekar, former MLA Digambar Patil, general secretary Maloji Ashtekar, corporator Ravi Salunke, Shubham Shelke, Sarita Patil, Renu Killekar, R.M. Chougule, Madan Bamne, Saraswati Patil, Gopalrao Desai, Ramchandra Modgekar, Gopal Patil, Muralidhar Patil and several other leaders and activists were present.