The Shiv Sena on Tuesday mentioned that Belgaum must be declared as a Union Territory, alleging that atrocities on Marathi-speaking folks by pro-Kannada outfits have been persevering with there.
An editorial within the Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ alleged {that a} pro-Kannada organisation lately beat up Marathi folks in Belgaum, eliminated Marathi boards from outlets there and in addition focused pro-Marathi social media customers.
The Karnataka police have been additionally harassing Marathi folks, it claimed.
“If the atrocities are not going to stop, then the Centre should declare Belgaum as a Union Territory,” it mentioned.
Maharashtra claims sure areas, together with Belgaum, Karwar, and Nippani that are a part of Karnataka, contending nearly all of the inhabitants in these areas is Marathi- talking.
The dispute between the 2 states over Belgaum and different border areas is pending earlier than the Supreme Court for a few years.
The editorial in ‘Saamana’ requested Maharashtra BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis to uptake the difficulty with the Centre and Karnataka chief minister.
There are Marathi folks in Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Vadodara (Gujarat) additionally. But, they by no means had any clashes with locals, the publication mentioned.
It additionally mentioned folks talking totally different languages have been residing in Maharashtra for thus a few years and that Marathi folks by no means handled them badly.
“The way the BJP government in Karnataka is handling the atrocities committed on the Marathi community by locals, it seems to be encouraging such miscreants,” the Sena alleged.
It is “illegal” to deal with Marathi-speaking folks in such a approach when the boundary dispute challenge is pending earlier than the Supreme Court, the editorial mentioned.
