Merge Belgaum with Maha: Nitesh Rane
The Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute has been going on since the last 70 years.
Mumbai: In the wake of the Modi government’s decision to revoke Article 370, Congress MLA Nitesh Rane, son of former chief minister Narayan Rane, has appealed to the Centre to merge Belgaum with Maharashtra.
“After the historic Kashmir decision…why not fulfill another longstanding demand of giving Belgaum to Maharashtra! Where it truly belongs! Akhand Maharashtra!!” Nitesh tweeted. Earlier, Nitesh had tweeted a video in which he welcomed the Centre’s move to revoke Article 370, which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
“The Centre had taken a historic decision. Due to this, we, the Indians, feel that the nation has been united in a true sense. It happened because of the strong leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I, as an Indian citizen, thank Mr Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and the Centre for this.”
The Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute has been going on since the last 70 years. The Marathi-speaking population in the border region has been fighting for the merger of Maharashtrian-dominated towns and villages in Karnataka, including Belgaum, Bidar, Bhalki, Nipani, Khanapur, Karwar and more than 800 villages along the boundary, with Maharashtra.
In its report 60 years ago, the Mahajan Commission had recommended that these villages remain with Karnataka. But Maharashtra approached the SC and the matter is still pending.