Centre, State Governments "Have Kept Mum": Aaditya Thackeray On Border Row

Shiv Sena leader (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and former minister Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday targeted the Maharashtra government and the Centre over the ongoing Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute.

He also accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of failing to resolve the matter as the war of words over the status of the disputed interstate border in Belagavi continues between Maharashtra and Karnataka.

"Our vehicles (with Maharashtra registration) were vandalised at the Maharashtra-Karnataka border areas and people are being attacked, while the governments in both the states and the Centre have kept mum over the issue," alleged Aaditya.

He said that the BJP is in power in both Karnataka and Maharashtra as well as in the Centre, but it does not care to interfere and resolve the dispute. "From farmers and women to industries, everyone is bound to face a range of issues and problems because of this border dispute. There is no action taken by the Centre so far," he complained.

After the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute escalated, many untoward incidents took place in Belagavi, after which as a precautionary measure, police presence was tightened along the border, in Belagavi's Chikkodi.

Belagavi is currently part of Karnataka but is claimed by Maharashtra. As per media reports, the long-running Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute started in 1953, after the Maharashtra government objected to the inclusion of 865 villages, including Belagavi, in Karnataka.

The villages are spread across Belagavi and Karnataka's northwestern and north-eastern regions - all bordering Maharashtra.

After the implementation of the State Reorganization Act, of 1956, the Maharashtra government demanded the readjustment of its border with Karnataka. Following this, a four-member committee was formed by both states.

Maharashtra government had expressed willingness to transfer 260 predominantly Kannada-speaking 260 villages, but it was turned down by Karnataka.

Now, both Karnataka and Maharashtra governments have approached the Supreme Court to expedite the matter, and the matter is still pending.

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray also targeted the ruling state government on pending transfer of IPS and IAS and said there is a long list of pendency of senior IPS officers' transfer.

"There is a clear interference from the MLAs. Officials in the municipal corporation and other departments are being transferred thrice, and around 70 people are transferred at once. While the transfer of several IPS and IAS officers is still pending. It's only because of internal politics and groupism," alleged Aaditya Thackeray.

He also targeted the ruling Eknath Shinde government on the recent incident in which a cab driver allegedly molested a woman in a moving car and threw her toddler out of the vehicle in Palghar district, and said that there is an increase in crime against women in the state. "We must respect women. We will not tolerate this," he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)