Maharashtra to be more inclusive of Marathi-speaking folks on K'taka border

The Maharashtra Legislature here on Tuesday adopted a resolution unanimously expressing full solidarity with the Marathi-speaking people living on the Karnataka border villages.

The resolution said the government will pursue the legal battle before the Supreme Court to merge the 865 Marathi-speaking villages with Maharashtra in Belagavi (Belgaum), Karwar, Nippani and other towns.

The state government will also urge the Centre to implement the decisions made at the recent meeting chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah with the Chief Ministers of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde and Karnataka's Basavaraj Bommai in New Delhi.

"The state government remains firmly and with full commitment with the Marathi-speaking people from the 865 villages," said the resolution, moved by Shinde and adopted by the house.

The development came almost a week after the Karnataka Legislature passed a similar resolution that led to a row in Maharashtra with the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi and other parties clamouring to bring up the resolution here on priority.

--IANS

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