Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa's announcement -- that his government may grant second capital status to Belgaum -- has evoked sharp reactions from political parties in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra has been demanding that Marathi speaking areas of Karnataka, including Belgaum, be merged with the state.
Leaders of Congress, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party flayed the statement. Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said Yeddyurappa had spoken out of turn.
The state government's plea to inlcude Belgaum and Karwar as part of Maharashtra is pending before the Supreme Court, he added.
NCP leader and Deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal said, "The statement is uncalled for and we will seek legal recourse on the issue."
Sena leader Diwakar Raote said his party will oppose any attempt by the Karnataka government to impose its mandate on the lakhs of Marathi-speaking people there. The boundary dispute between the states is over half a century old. After reorganisation of states, there has been a demand to include Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka in Maharashtra.
Karnataka recently held a special five-day session of its assembly in Belgaum. Later, nominations of all Marathi-speaking candidates in the Belgaum mayoral poll were rejected and the lone Kannada-speaking nominee was declared elected unopposed.
This prompted protests against Yeddyurappa during his Mumbai visit earlier in April and he was welcomed with black flags in Mumbai by the Shiv Sainiks.
