Bommai-Shinde talk, dial down on border tensions

Amid the raging border dispute, Karnataka and Maharashtra chief ministers spoke to each other over the phone on Tuesday night and have agreed that there should be peace and law and order should be maintained on both sides.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, tweeting about conversation with his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde, asserted that however, there is no change in Karnataka's stand as far as the border is concerned

"Maharashtra Chief Minister Shri Eknath Shinde had a telephonic discussion with me, we both agreed that there should be peace and law and order to be maintained in both the states," Bommai said in the tweet.

Noting that there are harmonious relations between the people of both the states, he said, "However, there is no change in our stand as far as Karnataka border is concerned. And the legal battle will be pursued in the Supreme Court."

The border dispute between both states intensified on Tuesday, with vehicles from either sides being targeted, leaders from both states weighing in, and pro-Kannada and Marathi activists being detained by the police amid a tense atmosphere in the border district of Belagavi.

The border issue dates back to 1957 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 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.

Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report was final.

And, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka has built the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of legislature in Bengaluru, and a legislature session is held there annually.