Soon after the culmination of the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur, Chandrakant Patil on Monday met veteran leader and Belgaum expert ND Patil in Kolhapur who has been working on the Belgaum issue for years.
State PWD minister Chandrakant Patil, who was recently appointed as 'nodal minister for border disputes', seems to have started his work with full enthusiasm.
Soon after the culmination of the winter session of state legislature in Nagpur, Chandrakant Patil on Monday met veteran leader and Belgaum expert ND Patil in Kolhapur who has been working on the Belgaum issue for years.
Confirming the development, Chandrakant Patil told dna, "Our meeting lasted for an hour; we discussed intrinsic details of the border dispute with Karnataka. In a week or so, I will invite all leaders, who have been fighting for the merger of those areas with Maharashtra, to Mumbai for a meet."
The Kolhapur meeting has re-energised the people in the Marathi-speaking areas of Belgaum. "We look forward to meeting the nodal minister soon," said Piyush Hawal, a youth leader associated with Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), which is based in the disputed area and has been fighting for the cause for the last six decades.
The state government had appointed Chandrakant Patil as the nodal minister for the border dispute with Karnataka on December 14.
There are 865 villages in Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar and Gulberga districts over which Maharashtra has been staking its claim for the last 60 years on linguistic grounds.
This is for the first time a nodal minister has been appointed for the issue. The move is being seen as the government's renewed assertion on the disputed area and a big support to the people associated with the movement for years.
Chandrakant Patil, who holds the PWD and textiles portfolios, hails from Kolhapur which is close to Belgaum. He has taken part in the Belgaum movement earlier and is said to be well versed with the issue.
In 2004, Maharashtra had approached the Supreme Court, challenging government of India's decision to include 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka. The case is still on. The matter is expected to come up for hearing next month.
People from these Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka often complain about discrimination and harassment by the Kannada-speaking civic authorities. They have led several agitations in the past, with some of them turning violent. The MES and other groups are still fighting for the cause.
What is the issue?
Belgaum district was a part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency. After India became independent in 1947, it became a part of the Bombay State. In 1948, the Belgaum Municipality requested the Indian Constituent Assembly and the Boundary Commission to include the Belgaum Municipal District in the proposed Samyukta Maharashtra state due to the large Marathi-speaking population present there. But, in 1956, it was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore state (now Karnataka) in accordance with the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. Following protests from Maharashtra, the Centre constituted a commission headed by justice MC Mahajan in 1966, which recommended that Belgaum be a part of Karnataka. While Centre and Karnataka accepted Mahajan Commission's recommendation, Maharashtra moved court.
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