'Centre should expedite Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute in Supreme Court'

Former Maharashtra Chief Minister CM Prithviraj Chavan has stated that the border dispute between the state and Karnataka has been ongoing for a long time and urged the Centre to expedite the case in the Supreme CourtThe border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka has existed since the formation of Maharashtra in 1960 In 2000 the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh took the matter to the Supreme Court This case has been pending for the last 25 years People of Belagavi are being forced to speak Kannada and the Marathi language there is gradually disappearing We request the central government to ensure this case is heard in the Supreme Court Chavan told ANIHe emphasised that the people of Maharashtra would accept the courts decisionChavanrsquos remarks came days after an assault on a Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation KSRTC bus conductor in Belagavi Karnataka allegedly for not speaking in MarathiAccording to ANI Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil condemned the assault calling it unfortunateIt is unfortunate that incidents like this are occurring They have disturbed society Patil said assuring the public that the Karnataka government would take all necessary measures to prevent similar incidents from recurring The government of Karnataka will make every effort to ensure that such unnecessary events do not take place he addedSanjay Raut calls for meeting with PMA bus driver and conductor of the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation NWKRTC were allegedly assaulted by a group of youths following a dispute over language in Belagavi The incident occurred on Friday around 1230 pm near Sulebhavi Four individuals were arrested following the attack on the bus driver and conductor ANI reportedPolice said on Saturday that they had also received a complaint from the girl involved who accused the conductor of making indecent remarks The boy and girl who had boarded the semiurban CBTSulebhavi bus allegedly threatened the conductor for not speaking in Marathi They reportedly called their accomplices leading to the assaultKarnataka Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy assured that the police took swift action The police took action and the court has sent the accused to 14 days judicial custody The law will take action The police have acted swiftly Reddy saidNA Haris Congress MLA and Chairman of KSRTC also addressed the issue saying Every local should try to speak in Kannada If you donrsquot know it you shouldnrsquot be attacking the person who is asking you to do it That is not fair The government has taken action and they have been arrested We will not spare them as this is not acceptableShiv Sena UBT leader Sanjay Raut called for a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi Home Minister Amit Shah Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to prevent further incidents like the one in BelagaviWe do not want such incidents to take place The PM and Home Minister should call for a meeting with the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra and Karnataka The Belagavi border dispute is in the Supreme Court Even then how can the Karnataka government be engaging in such activities It is not right The matter is subjudice Why are activities like assaulting our people closing Marathi schools and blocking literature organisations still happening Raut saidFollowing the incident Shiv Sena UBT workers staged a protest on Saturday blackening the buses with Karnataka number plates in the Swargate area of Pune cityEarlier police said action would be taken against those responsible for blackening the busesAs soon as we learned that Shiv Sena UBT workers were going to protest we immediately dispatched a force They managed to spray black paint on one bus but not much damage was done DCP Smartana Patil told ANIThe accused have been detained and legal action will follow Four to five people have been detained and others will be identified soon based on video recordings she addedWith ANI inputs