Maharashtra-Karnataka border row: Fadnavis dials Bommai over Belagavi truck attack

Karnataka police detained several Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists in Belagavi's Hirebagewadi after they allegedly threw stones at a truck and halted lorries with Maharashtra registration numbers on Tuesday, December 6, 2022. The activists also staged a sit-in protest.

Following the incident, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke with Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, expressing displeasure over Belagavi's Hirebagewadi incident. CM Bommai said the culprits would face severe punishment and ensured the vehicles coming from Maharashtra would be protected, according to the Maharashtra deputy CM's office. 

At today's protest, the windshield of one truck was damaged, and protestors carrying the Kannada/Karnataka flag halted the traffic. Police were called to settle the situation; the protestors were seen jostling with the cops and lying down on the road. 

This came just hours after Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, tasked to coordinate the state's border dispute with Karnataka, cancelled their planned visit to Belagavi. On Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said their visit could spark a law and order crisis.

Belagavi is at the centre since Maharashtra claims that the Marathi-majority area was wrongfully given to Kannada-majority Karnataka during the language-based reformation of states in the 1960s.

Recently, Karnataka revived its claim over several villages in Maharashtra, triggering a new row even though the same party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, governs both states.

Following the incident, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar said the situation in the border areas of Maharashtra and Karnataka is 'worrisome,' and time has come to take a stand after seeing what is happening there.

While addressing the media, Sharad Pawar said, "After seeing what is happening in border areas, the time has come to take a stand. The situation there is concerning." Additionally, Pawar said, "Despite CM Shinde's talk with Karnataka CM, he has not softened his stance on the issue... One must not put our (Maharashtra's) patience to the test. This must not go in the wrong direction."

Also read: Border row: Maharashtra ministers unlikely to travel to Karnataka's Belagavi

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• Basavaraj Bommai
• Belagavi
• Devendra Fadnavis
• Eknath Shinde
• Karnataka
• Maharashtra