Villages seeking merger with other States not creditable for Maharashtra; Shinde government should ensure their retention: Ramdas Athawale

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function on December 9, he said he would soon meet CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the issue.

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has said it was not creditable for Maharashtra that some of its border villages were demanding merger into Karnataka and other neighbouring States, and added that the Eknath Shinde-led dispensation should ensure that they are retained in the State and people there get all the facilities.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function at Kalyan in Thane district on December 9, he said he would soon meet CM Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the issue.

Explained | What is the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute?

The decades-old raging dispute between the two States spilled onto roads earlier this week with stones being hurled at vehicles entering Karnataka from the Maharashtra side near a toll booth at Hirebaugwadi in Belagavi district. Similarly, some buses from Karnataka were defaced in Pune district allegedly by activists of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

"The border row is not new as it existed even before the formation of the State. But now, it has come to such an extent that some villages located along the Maharashtra borders want to get out of the State. This is not creditable," Mr. Athawale, who hails from Maharashtra, said.

“It is not just the case with the villages in Maharashtra located along the Karnataka border, but even those bordering Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat want to get merged into the neighbouring States,” he said.