'Will PM Modi hand over Belagavi to Maharashtra for BJP?': HD Kumaraswamy on border row

With the Deputy Chief Minister of the Karnataka government seeking PM Modi's intervention in the border dispute with Maharashtra, former CM HD Kumaraswamy said there is no need for the Prime Minister's mediation as it may be influenced by the BJP unit in the western state. 

"(Karnataka Minister) Laxman Savadi wants PM Modi to intervene in the border dispute. No one should mediate in this controversy. Will the Maharashtra BJP have no influence over the Prime Minister's intervention? Will Modi hand over Belagavi to Maharashtra in BJP?" the JD(S) leader said in a series of tweets.

He also questioned whether the BJP unit in Karnataka will be okay if the disputed region of Belagavi is handed over to Maharashtra.

Further attacking Shiv Sena, Kumaraswamy said the Maharashtra government raking up the border and language issue in Belagavi is "nothing but diversionary actions" since people in the state are unhappy with their administration. "Shiv Sena is speaking as if pro-Kannada workers in Belagavi hoisting the Kannada flag are committing some crime. Belagavi is ours. It is our right to hoist the Kannada flag there. Maharashtra has no right to question this," he said.

"Sena said that for the past eight days, Marathi-speaking people are being attacked in Belagavi. Who attacked our buses in Kolhapur first? Kannada-speaking people were attacked in the city after Marathi boards were removed in Belagavi. After all this, Maharashtra is trying to make false accusations," the former Karnataka CM wrote.

Shiv Sena rakes up decades-old Belgavi dispute

HD Kumaraswamy's statements came after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut alleged that Marathi people residing in the disputed region of Belgavi were being victimised, and called for an all-party delegation from Maharashtra to visit the city and resolve the ongoing stand-off. Raut alleged that in the last eight days, there have been instances of attack on Shiv Sena leaders and the party's office in Belgavi by pro-Kannada outfits. 

It has been a long-pending demand of Maharashtra leaders to merge the regions dominated by Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka, especially Belagavi with the western state. The demand has been strongly opposed by pro-Kannada organisations including the BJP government in the southern state.