NCP asks Twitter CEO Elon Musk to help resolve Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute

MUMBAI: In what could be seen as an amusing turn of events, NCP state president Jayant Patil on Monday requested Twitter CEO Elon Musk to help resolve the ongoing border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka by clarifying whether Karnataka Chief Minister Basvaraj Bommai had tweeted controversial tweets about the border issue from his Twitter account or not.

Elon Musk on Monday launched a poll on the micro-blogging website asking whether he should stay or down as Twitter's CEO and added that he would abide by the poll's results.

Patil tagged Musk's tweet and asked the latter to resolve the issue over if Bommai had allegedly tweeted anything that could escalate further tensions at the border.  “But before you step down as Twitter head, you must give the result of who really tweeted from Karnataka CM Basvaraj Bommai’s social media account,” Patil asked Elon Musk.

The opposition alleged that Bommai had posted a series of tweets over the Maharashtra and Karnataka border leading to a tumultuous situation at the border. Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde had also complained to Union Home Minister Amit Shah against Karnataka CM, but Shah denied the accusations.

Bommai in a recent meeting with Amit Shah and Eknath Shinde denied that he had not tweeted anything that can flare up the border dispute. Bommai claimed someone had hacked his social media account and published the tweets in question. Following the meeting, the Home Minister said the authenticity of the tweets will be verified and action will be taken against those involved.

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra state assembly witnessed an uproar over the border dispute. Opposition parties alleged that Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde had failed to protect the interest of the Maharashtra people.

Maharashtra's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar said that elected representatives like MLAs and MPs have been barred from entering Karnataka. Pawar said the Karnataka CM issued an order to arrest the Maharashtra leaders who entered Karnataka, despite the latter agreeing to cooperate over the border tussle following a recent meeting with Amit Shah.