Maha: Congress Legislator Asks Minister Desai To Visit Belagavi

Congress legislator Shashikant Shinde on Wednesday asked Maharashtra Excise Minister Shambhuraj Desai to visit Belagavi, the Karnataka city that the state claims, and "not return midway".

Speaking in the Maharashtra Legislative Council on the border dispute with Karnataka, he also said the minister earlier lost an opportunity to become a hero by visiting the disputed areas in the southern state.

"Go and visit Belagavi and meet the Marathi-speaking people there. But do not return midway," Shinde said.

Desai, who belongs to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, had announced that he was going to attend the meeting of the `Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti', which has been seeking merger of the city with Maharashtra for long, on December 6.

But he dropped the plan later.

The Congress legislator also alleged that 1,500 acres of land of Marathi-speaking farmers in border areas of Karnataka was acquired by the Karnataka government for a highway, and Kannada-speakers were allotted parts of this land.

He also demanded that the disputed area in Karnataka which Maharashtra has been claiming should be declared a Union Territory.

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra legislature passed a resolution saying that the state would legally pursue its case against Karnataka, seeking the incorporation of 865 villages.