Belgaum row is a closed chapter: Karnataka CM

Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday charged the Maharashtra government with raking up the Belgaum boundary issue to 'cover up' political differences between the ruling alliance partners Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party in the neighbouring state.

"The Maharashtra government is raking up the boundary issue to cover up the differences between Congress, NCP in the state and divert the public attention," Yeddyurappa alleged.

"The Mahajan Commission report is final," he told reporters, a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan asked the Centre to declare 865 Marathi speaking villages in Karnataka as a Union Territory.

"It (the boundary dispute) is a closed chapter," he said pointing out that the Mahajan Commission was appointed after both Karnataka and Maharashtra gave their approval. Karnataka had accepted its report, Yeddyurappa said, adding that the Centre had also filed an affidavit declaring that those villages are part of Karnataka.

He termed as 'unfortunate' the raking up of the boundary issue by Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti (a pro-Maharashtra outfit based in Belgaum) and urged the Maharashtra government not to entertain its 'baseless demand'.