SC must hear Maha-K'taka border dispute urgently: BJP leader Bawankule

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekar Bawankule said the Supreme Court should hear the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute case urgently and give a decision soon

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrashekar Bawankule on Saturday said the Supreme Court should hear the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute case urgently and give a decision soon as the situation is getting tense between the two states.

He was addressing a press conference here ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the city.

The BJP leader thanked the prime minister for various development projects in Nagpur, which will be inaugurated on Sunday, and appealed to citizens to accord a grand welcome to him.

On the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue, Bawankule said the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government has put its submissions strongly in the Supreme Court.

"I feel that no inflammatory speeches should be made by both sides. There is no meaning to what the Karnataka chief minister says or what we say. The issue will be permanently resolved if the result of the case in the apex court comes out," the state BJP chief said.

The border row between Maharashtra and Karnataka has heated up with incidents of violence being reported from border areas of both states.

The dispute dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also staked claim to 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.

Bawankule claimed that some prominent leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, were vitiating the atmosphere on both sides again and again for political gains.

"This case should be taken up urgently by requesting the Supreme Court as the situation is getting tense and incidents of law and order being disturbed are cropping up. The final decision should be given after hearing both sides. This is the only way and creating a tense situation in border areas is not the way," Bawankule said.

The BJP leader also appealed to Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai not to give statements against the interests of people of Maharashtra.