Shiv Sena UBT leader and legislator Aditya Thackeray on Monday made a demand that Belgavi and other disputed areas in the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute should be declared as a union territory.
The demand was made by him when the news reached Mumbai that the Congress-led Karnataka government had refused permission for Maharashtra Akikaran Samiti to hold a meeting in Belgavi.
Aditya Thackeray told the media that the BJP-led Maha Yuti government should convince Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare disputed areas as union territory following suppression of rights of the Marathi-speaking people by Karnataka government.
When pointed out that the Karnataka government is led by Congress and his party was part INDIA bloc led by Congress he said he would also take up the issue.
“Government can be of any party but we will not tolerate injustice. When we were with BJP and BJP government was there in Karnataka that time too we had expressed support for Marathi speaking people and spoken against BJP government that time,” he said.
He said in past there has been BJP governments both in Karnataka and Maharashtra and still the dispute was not solved. He also stated that the situation had been deteriorating since Sunday and some activists of his party had been arrested.
He also pointed out that Marathi-speaking people were suffering as the EVM government (his term for Mahayuti government) was celebrating.
He reminded that the previous government had declared that special facilities would be provided to Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka and asked whether these special facilities had been provided.
When asked whether NCP (SP) and Congress were supporting his demand for union territory he said he was speaking as Shiv Sena UBT leader and on behalf of Maharashtra.