Eknath Shinde govt's move affront to federal structure: Experts

BELAGAVI: Ashok Chandaragi, president of the action committee of Belagavi Kannada organizations, on Tuesday met Shivaraj Patil, chairman of Karnataka Border Protection and Water Commission, and C Somashekhar, chairman of Karnataka Border Area Development Authority in Bengaluru, and sought stringent measures to stop the implementation of a health scheme by the Maharashtra government in villages on the Karnataka side of the border between the two states.
The move comes in the wake of the Maharashtra government introducing the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana (MJPJAY) in 865 border villages in Karnataka over which Maharashtra has claimed authority.
While the case over Maharashtra's claim is still pending before the Supreme Court, the Eknath Shinde government introduced MJPJAY in the border villages in Karnataka through an official notification on April 3.
Maharashtra government has earmarked Rs 54 crore for the scheme.
To get the benefits of the scheme, people in those 865 villages are supposed to give an undertaking that they are Marathi-speaking with BPL (below poverty line) cards.
Chandaragi claimed that it's a conspiracy by the Maharashtra government to create the impression that people living in those 865 villages are interested in joining Maharashtra. He urged both Patil and Somashekhar to take immediate measures to prevent implementation of the scheme.
Commenting on the controversy, Patil said it is necessary to bring the issue to the notice of the Supreme Court during its next hearing.
Somashekhar, meanwhile, spoke about the need to stop the scheme in Karnataka and discussing it with the deputy commissioners of Belagavi, Karwar, Kalaburagi, Bidar and Yadagiri, where the Maharashtra-sponsored initiative applies.
In a press release, Chandaragi further said that by implementing the scheme in areas that come under Karnataka's jurisdiction, Maharashtra has attempted to directly intervene in the affairs of Karnataka, which is against the federal structure of the country.