Parallel Maratha rally queers the pitch for legislature session in Belgaum

The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) has queered the pitch for the winter session of Karnataka Legislature in Belgaum from September 25 by convening a parallel Maratha rally in the border district on the first day of the session.

The MES, which has been spearheading the campaign for transfer of Belgaum and other Marathi-speaking areas of the border district to Maharashtra, has decided to mobilize a large number of Marathi-speaking people not only from Belgaum, but also parts of Maharashtra including Mumbai for the Maratha convention.

Working President of Belgaum unit of MES Deepak Dalvi told reporters that Marathi-speaking people from Mumbai, Pune, Satara, Kolhapur, Aurad, Bhalki and other areas in Maharashtra will attend the convention to express solidarity with Marathi-speaking people in Belgaum.

The policies of Karnataka Government with regard to the border dispute will be criticized during the convention. The convention will also serve to register the protest of Marathi-speaking people to the Karnataka Government’s decision to hold a legislature session in Belgaum.

The MES has been holding meetings to ensure maximum attendance at their rally to send a strong signal to the Karnataka Government that they will not yield to the pressure tactics on the border dispute.

Reacting to MES plans to hold a Maratha rally in Belgaum on the first day of the “historic” legislature session convened by Karnataka Government, which is incidentally the first legislature session to be held outside Bangalore, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy warned the Maratha groups against hurting the sentiments of Kannadigas.

He, however, said the Maratha convention would not have any impact of the legislature session convened by Karnataka in Belgaum.

Meanwhile, Governor T N Chaturvedi’s refusal to address the joint session of Karnataka Legislature in Belgaum has given a new twist to the controversy. A Raj Bhavan communiqué citing the inability of the Governor to address the joint Legislature session in Belgaum due to his pre-occupations with engagements in Hyderabad, has infuriated pro-Kannada organizations.

The pro-Kannada organizations have demanded the resignation of Governor T N Chaturvedi for “hurting” their sentiments by refusing to address the historic Legislature session in Belgaum.