MES favours plebiscite in disputed Belgaum

Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) has favoured a plebiscite in the disputed border district of Belgaum.

Addressing a press conference in Belgaum yesterday, MES legislator Manohar Kinekar said the opinion of people in the disputed areas in Belgaum should be collected to review the boundary between Karnataka and Maharashtra.

MES, which has been carrying an agitation to seek the merger of Marathi-dominated areas in the border of Karnataka with Maharashtra, said his party does not approve of the Mahajan Commission report on the boundary dispute. “The Mahajan Commission report on the boundary dispute is not final. A fresh exercise should be conducted to gather the opinion of people living in the disputed areas of Belgaum”, he said.

Clarifying that MES does not wish to include Kannada-speaking areas on the border with Maharashta, Kinekar said several Marathi-speaking areas figure in Karnataka’ side of the border, much against the wishes of the people.

He criticized the Karnataka Government for holding a special session of the state legislature in Belgaum. “It is nothing more than a picnic for the legislators. The people are the area are clearly against the idea of Karnataka Government holding a legislature session in Belgaum”, he said.

Earlier in the day, Manohar Kinekar and his fellow MES legislator Digambar Patil staged a walkout from Governor T N Chaturvedi’s joint address to the legislature session in Belgaum. They held placards claiming that MES does not accept the Mahajan Commission report and that Karnataka Government was subjugating the Marathi-speaking people in Belgaum.

When the MES legislators arrived to the joint session of the state legislature holding placards, Kannada protagonist and independent MLA Vatal Nagaraj rushed towards them and shouted slogans against the MES legislators, creating confusion in the House.

Later, Chaturvedi addressed the joint session, which was incidentally the third during the calendar year 2006, and emphasized the need for removing regional imbalances. He urged the Government to pay adequate attention to improvement of industry, tourism and irrigation infrastructure in north Karnataka.

The Governor also expressed his displeasure over the allegations and counter-allegations of corruption among politicians in Karnataka. He appealed to the Government to implement the 11-point programme advocated by President Abdul Kalam for the all-round development of the State.