Border dispute: Centre siding with Karnataka, says Maharashtra CM Uddhav

In what could trigger off controversy and political debate, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has accused the Narendra Modi-government at the Centre of siding with Karnataka on the vexed boundary dispute between the two states.

"The Centre is considered the guardian of all states....and since the matter (Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute) is in (Supreme) Court, the Centre should put forward sides of both the states," said Uddhav, the President of Shiv Sena and leader of Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

He also said that if one side is at fault, it is the duty of the Centre to tell the court. "However, in the last five years (of BJP-led NDA government), the Centre is putting forward views (in the court) on behalf of the Karnataka government," Uddhav said in an interview to Shiv Sena mouthpieces - Marathi daily Saamana and Hindi tabloid Dophar ka Saamana.

"This is something shocking," he said in the three-part interview given to Saamana Executive Editor Sanjay Raut, who is also the Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member and party spokesperson. Uddhav said that he needs to take "some steps" but before that he would call a meeting of the committee that includes two ministers.

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"We will definitely initiate a correspondence (with the Centre)," he said. The two ministers in the committee are Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Chhagan Bhujbal of NCP.

Uddhav also said that even though the matter was "sub-judice", the Karnataka government is "committing atrocities" on Marathi-speaking people staying in Belgaum, Karwar, Nipani and other areas along the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary.

In fact, since the time he took over the top job, Uddhav had held several meetings on the issue with a cross-section of people and sought to advise from senior counsel Harish Salve.

Last week, when Uddhav chaired a meeting of MPs from Maharashtra ahead of the budget session, he requested the law-makers to cut across party lines and aggressively pursue the issue to give justice to the Marathi-speaking people.

In the past, Uddhav has raked up a controversy describing the disputed area as "Karnataka-Occupied-Maharashtra", following which his Karnataka counterpart and senior BJP leader BS Yediyurappa had stated that "even an inch" of land would not be given. The Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute dates back to the fifties - and the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti is spearheading the movement from Belgaum.

In fact, Raut had visited Belgaum a few days ago. "The dispute was being heard by the Supreme Court for the last 14 years, and both the states should accept the apex court's verdict," he had said and added that the CMs of the two states and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar should sit together and resolve the issue.