MUMBAI: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said his government was committed to incorporating into the state the areas of Karnataka where Marathi-speaking people are in majority.
This will be the “true tribute” to the martyrs of the cause, the chief minister’s office (CMO) said in a tweet.
The state claims Belgaum and some other areas, part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency but currently in Karnataka, on linguistic grounds.
The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, a regional outfit fighting for the merger of Belgaum and some other border areas with the state, observes January 17 as the martyrs’ day for those who laid down their lives for the cause in 1956.
“Bringing Karnataka-occupied Marathi-speaking and cultural areas in Maharashtra will be the true tribute to those who accepted martyrdom in the boundary battle. We are united and committed towards it. Respects to the martyrs with this promise,” the tweet by the CMO said.
In reply, BJP Karnataka general secretary N Ravi Kumar said Thackeray’s statement was “foolish in nature”.
“A CM should make a logical statement. Maharashtra annexing Belagavi or Karnataka demanding Kolhapur and Solapur is unrealistic and impossible,” Kumar said.
The state claims certain areas, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani, contending that the majority population in these areas is Marathi-speaking. The dispute is pending before the SC.
(With inputs from PTI)