Opposition to corner Shinde govt. on Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary row in Winter Session

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had not acted “aggressively enough” on the boundary issue, says Ajit Pawar

A stormy Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature is in the offing with the Opposition tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance planning to corner the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government over the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute, the loss of big-ticket investment to the State and agrarian distress.

Addressing a press conference ahead of the session which begins in Nagpur on Monday, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Ajit Pawar on Sunday said that the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena (Mr. Shinde’s faction of Sena)-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Eknath Shinde had not acted “aggressively enough” on the boundary issue.

“In 62 years since the formation of Maharashtra, this kind of thing has never happened before. While the Karnataka-Maharashtra boundary problem has been there for a long time, this is the first time that the Karnataka CM [Basavaraj Bommai] has made aggressive remarks about acquiring districts in Maharashtra and our State government has failed to give a fitting reply,” said Mr. Pawar, who was flanked by his MVA colleagues, Congress State chief Nana Patole and Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena leader Ambadas Danve.

He said that the Opposition would target the government over the allegedly ‘inappropriate’ remarks made against Chhatrapati Shivaji by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and the Centre and State-ruled BJP governments failure to condemn them.

Mr. Pawar also said the Opposition has unanimously decided to boycott the customary tea party to be hosted by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde later in the day.

Meanwhile, in his weekly column ‘ Rokhthok’ in the party mouthpiece Saamana, uddhav camp leader, MP Sanjay Raut said that the boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka “was a struggle for humanity” and not a fight between people and governments of the two states.

“The struggle of the Marathi-speaking population in Belagavi and nearby areas who were included in Karnataka against their wishes during the reorganisation of States, cannot be crushed cruelly,” Mr. Raut said.