Karnataka maintains that the demarcation done on linguistic basis as per the States Reorganization Act and the Mahajan Commission Report of 1967 is final. (Image/IANS)
A Government Resolution (GR) extending the benefits of the ‘Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana’ scheme to villages in Karnataka was issued by Maharashtra on Monday.
Terming the Maharashtra government’s order to extend benefits of its healthcare scheme to 865 villages in Karnataka amid the ongoing border dispute between the two states a threat to the federal system, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday warned of retaliation if Not done, withdrawn.
Siddaramaiah, Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, said, “Maharashtra’s move cannot be tolerated.” “If it is not withdrawn immediately the results will not be correct.” In a series of tweets, Bommai alleged that in the name of providing insurance to people bordering Karnataka, the Maharashtra government is taking declaration forms from them saying they belong to Maharashtra. “It’s reprehensible.” If the Maharashtra government continues with its insolent behaviour, the Karnataka government will also implement a similar insurance scheme for the safety of Kannadigas on the Maharashtra border.
A Government Resolution (GR) extending the benefits of the ‘Mahatma Jyotirao Phule Jan Arogya Yojana’ scheme to villages in Karnataka was issued by Maharashtra on Monday.
The order states that 865 villages in 12 tehsils of Belagavi, Karwar, Kalaburagi and Bidar have been covered under the ‘scheme’.
“Even though the Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute is in the Supreme Court, the Maharashtra government is trying to create confusion in the border areas of the two states. The order to insure some people at the Karnataka border is the height of arrogance and an attempt to sabotage relations between the two states, Bommai said.
Pointing to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis agreeing not to create any confusion on the border issue in a meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said that now the Babu Jagjivan Ram Swasthya Bima Yojana is being implemented. Issuing orders of 865 villages in Karnataka are a threat to the federal system.
“The Maharashtra government should immediately withdraw its order and work towards safeguarding relations between the two states, respecting Amit Shah’s instructions,” he said.
Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah said that the Chief Minister of Maharashtra was not giving any importance to the assurances and words of the Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister of Karnataka regarding the border issue, and called upon Bommai to act in this regard.
“The Belagavi border dispute is in court. We hope that Kannadigas will get justice. Meanwhile, it is condemnable that Maharashtra is playing mischief by digging up the border issue for political gains. Kannadigas will not tolerate this,” the former chief minister said.
The boundary issue dates back to 1957 when the states were reorganized on linguistic basis. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, because it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages that are currently part of Karnataka.
Karnataka maintains that the demarcation done on linguistic basis as per the States Reorganization Act and the Mahajan Commission Report of 1967 is final.
And, as part of Belagavi’s claim to be an integral part of the state, Karnataka built the Suvarna Vidhan Soudha there, modeled on the Vidhan Soudha, the seat of the state legislature and secretariat in Bengaluru.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)
