Border row: 'Will have to reconsider water supply to Karnataka if Bommai....' warns Maharashtra Minister Desai
Maharashtra-K'taka border row: Cabinet minister Shambhuraj Desai slammed Basavaraj Bommai over the Karnataka government's stance that no inch of land will be given to Maharashtra. Desai said Bommai should stop making such remarks.
FollowAmid the simmering tension between Maharashtra and Karnataka over the border issue, the Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai, in the ongoing Napgpur winter session on Wednesday (December 21), warned Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai that if he continues to make irresponsible statements, Maharashtra will have to reconsider water supplies from its dam to the neighbouring state.
Last month, the Maharashtra government appointed two cabinet ministers, Shambhuraj Desai and Chandrakant Patil, as nodal ministers to work with the legal team on the state's border dispute with Karnataka.
Desai slammed Bommai over the Karnataka government's stance that not an inch of land will be given to Maharashtra.
The Karnataka assembly has reiterated the state's position that the border issue has been resolved, and not an inch of land will be given to the neighbouring state.
On Tuesday, during a debate on the border dispute in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, CM Bommai suggested issuing a unanimous resolution in both Houses of the state legislature, repeating and asserting the stand.
Desai said that he condemns such comments, which are inappropriate for Bommai as he holds a constitutional position. According to Desai, the case is in the case is sub-judice, and being a CM using such 'threatening language' is not good, adding that Bommai should stop making such remarks.
"Maharashtra, too, can reply in the same language, and he should not provoke us," Desai added.
Maharashtra is patient, and the Karnataka CM should remember that the southern state relies heavily on water supply from the Koyna and Krishna dams (in Maharashtra) during the dry season of March and April, he continued.
"If Karnataka does not stop (making such claims), Maharashtra would have to reconsider its water supply to the neighbouring state," Desai warned.
Furthermore, he said that Maharashtra remains firm with the Marathi-speaking people who live in border areas.
On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil suggested that Maharashtra should raise the height of upstream dams to "rein in" Karnataka.
The border issue stretches back to 1957 when states were reorganised along linguistic lines. Maharashtra claimed Belagavi, a former part of the Bombay Presidency, as it had a sizable Marathi-speaking population. It also claimed over 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are now part of Karnataka.
Karnataka views the linguistic demarcation set by the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report and the States Reorganisation Act to be final.
(With inputs from PTI)
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