For the first time, there has been a regional dispute openly in a ruling national party. The aged old issue of the Maharastra – Karnataka border issue resurfaced again and it lead to a strong exchange of words between Maharastra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis & Karnataka CM Basavaraj B Bommai.
The border dispute is dated to the 1950s. Both Maharashtra and Karnataka were formed in 1960. But since its formation, Maharashtra has claimed that 865 villages along the border, including Carvar, Nippani and Belgavi ( earlier Belgaum), should be merged with it. While Karnataka has claimed rights over 260 Kannada-speaking villages along the Maharashtra border. In 2004, the Maharashtra government moved the Supreme Court for settlement of the border dispute under Article 131(b) of the Constitution. The case is pending in the apex court.
It resurface again when Ajit Pawar, opposition leader of Maharastra, demanded clarification over Bommai’s claims that villages in Jat tehsil of Sangli were a part of Karnataka. Fadnavis responded, “The Jat resolution discussed was passed in 2012. It is an old proposal. We have not received any new proposal from Karnataka. We will fight for our stand within the legal framework in the Supreme Court.”