Bengaluru, Dec 5 (IANS): The border row has escalated in Belagavi in Karnataka with Maharashtra ministers announcing their visit to the border city on Tuesday. The Kannada organisations on the other hand have given a call to the workers to arrive into Belagavi to prevent their entry into the state.
Karnataka Rakshna Vedike held a meeting in this regard, and announced that from Bengaluru the Kannada activists would leave for Belagavi in 100 vehicles on Monday evening. Similarly, the Kannada activists from all districts would reach the destination.
The ruling BJP government is in predicament with the Kannada organisations warning that they would not let the Maharashtra ministers inside the territory of Karnataka. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had advised the Maharashtra ministers not to visit the state under the present circumstances. He also hinted that if they still come, action may be initiated.
The Kannada organisations have decided to stage a large-scale protest in Belagavi city and border areas. The protests would also be staged in Bengaluru opposing the visit of the Maharashtra ministers.
The Kannada activists maintain that the Maharashtra ministers who are planning to come to Belagavi would issue provoking statements. They would destroy the harmony between Kannad and the Marathi people. They have also urged the ruling BJP not to allow them into the state. Either arrest them or send them back, they have demanded.
T.A. Narayana Gowda, the President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike had stated that in case the government allows the Maharashtra ministers to enter, the Kannada activists will not let them in. Many Kannada organisations have warned the state government in Karnataka that they will not be responsible for any consequences if the Maha ministers are let into the state.
The Maharashtra Ekikarana Samithi (MES), a political outfit in Karnataka, waging a battle for unification of Belagavi with Maharashtra, had shot a letter inviting the Maharashtra ministers to Belagavi city.
The request was made to the coordinating ministers appointed by the coalition government of BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra -- Chandrakanth Patil and Shambhuraj Desai. The submission says that discussion was needed regarding the border dispute. Both the ministers have responded positively to the submission and assured that they would visit Belagavi city on December 6.