Bengaluru, Nov 23, 2022: Amid the border dispute between the two neighbouring states, Karnataka Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai has vowed his government will provide special grants to Kannada-medium schools in Maharashtra on Tuesday. He has also promised pension to Kannadigas in Maharashtra who are fighting for the “unification” of the state, reported Times of India.
This is a hit-back on Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde promising that his government will give pension to “freedom fighters” from Belagavi and other parts of Karnataka that are claimed by Maharashtra. There is also a promise of extending the benefits of Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana for these “freedom fighters”.
The Karnataka chief minister has mentioned that his government has formed a strong legal team to present Karnataka’s case. He also stated that Karnataka was prepared to challenge the maintainability of the petition.
The border dispute has also led Karnataka Chief Minister Bommai to claim that panchayats in Jat taluka of Maharashtra had passed a resolution in the past to merge with the southern state at the time of a severe drought and acute drinking water crisis. He also mentioned that the Karnataka government has come up with schemes to help them by providing water. However, Maharashtra cabinet minister Shambhuraj Desai hit back on Wednesday that these claims should not be taken seriously.
Addressing the reporters, Desai has said, “As Maharashtra has reconstituted its team to take forward the Karnataka border dispute in the Supreme Court, Bommai has come up with some ridiculous old demand. It should not be taken seriously. The villages in Jat tehsil (of Sangli district) had reportedly passed a resolution more than a decade back to pressurise the then state government to address their demand of water supply for irrigation from the Krishna river."
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has also appointed cabinet members Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai as nodal ministers on Tuesday.