'Maharashtra's plea over border issue not maintainable,' says Bommai

Karnataka's stand is that Maharashtra's plea regarding the border issue is not maintainable and the same will be argued by the state's advocates when the case comes up before the Supreme Court for hearing, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said on Thursday.

The Chief Minister also asserted that the state's stand is both "constitutional and legal." "Karnataka's stand is very clear, Maharashtra's appeal is not maintainable, that's our stand, and the same will be argued by our lawyers. Our stand is both constitutional and legal," Bommai told reporters.

The petition, relating to the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute, did not come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on Wednesday. According to reports, though the matter was listed before the Bench headed by Justice K M Joseph on Wednesday, it could not come up for hearing as the judges were busy hearing the matter related to jallikattu, before the Constitution Bench.

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The border dispute dates back to the 1960s after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency as it has a sizable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to a number of Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka. Responding to a question on rowdy-sheeters like- 'Wilsongarden' Naga, 'Silent' Sunil and 'Fighter' Ravi-, seen in BJP circles, along with its leaders recently, which has elicited sharp criticism, Bommai made it clear that such people have no place in the party.

"I don't want to speak much about it, you (media) may be interested. We will not entertain any rowdy elements in the party, and we are clear not to give them any opportunity in the party. There is no change in our stand, no question at all," he said.