Kumaraswamy to visit Maratha-dominated village in Belgaum

After taking a historic decision to hold the winter session of Karnataka legislature in the disputed border district of Belgaum from September 25, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy now plans to visit the controversial Maratha-dominated village of Yellur in Belgaum, whose inhabitants claim it is part of Maharashtra.

Yellur village had come under the spotlight of media a couple of months ago when its pre-dominantly Marathi-speaking population had strongly protested the efforts of the district administration to remove a concrete board that claimed the village is in Maharashtra state.

With Chief Minister deciding to visit Yellur, the Maratha-dominated Yellur village, located barely five kilometers from Belgaum town, has come under media spotlight once again.

During his visit to Belgaum to attend the Legislature session, scheduled to be held from September 25 to 28, Kumaraswamy will visit Yellur village and hold a meeting with pro-Maharashtrians.

The Chief Minister is expected to give a patient hearing to the Marathi-speaking people of the area and instruct district administration officials to immediately take up developmental works in and around the village.

With the border dispute between Karnataka and Maharashtra flaring up after the latter moved the Supreme Court to stake claim over more than 800 Marathi-speaking villages in Belgaum district, the Karnataka Chief Minister has already made it clear he is keen on winning the hearts of the Marathi-speaking people.

The Chief Minister also plans to stay overnight at the house of Maratha-speaking person in Belgaum as part of his efforts to woo them.

Meanwhile, preparations were in full swing for Karnataka’s maiden legislature session outside the state capital of Bangalore beginning from September 25 in Belgaum. The Jawaharalal Nehru Medical College, the venue for the legislature session, has been converted into a virtual fortress with more than 4,000 police personnel keeping a strict vigil on the movement of people and vehicles in the campus.

Various Kannada organizations had hoisted Kannada flags atop houses and various vantage locations in Belgaum to mark the occasion.

But, in a different part of Belgaum, Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES), which has already opposed the legislature session, was busy erecting a huge pandal for its Maratha rally. A spokesperson for MES told reporters that thousands of people from Maratha dominated areas of Belgaum and neighbouring Maharashtra are expected to attend the rally.

The authorities have already deployed Rapid Action Force (RAF) in large numbers to check any untoward incident in Belgaum.