Border Row LIVE: Belagavi Dispute Intensifies as MVA Camp Stopped from Entering District; Protest Mars Karnataka Assembly Session

The Maharashtra-Karnataka border row continued to intensify on Monday with leaders from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Congress and Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) denied entry into Belagavi in Karnataka, that is at the centre of the border dispute, while they were attempting to enter the district for protest.

As per reports, some leaders of NCP, Sena and Congress were detained and taken into preventive custody. NCP?s Hasan Mushrif, and Shiv Sena?s Kolhapur district president Vijay Devane, were detained while trying to enter Karnataka?s Belagavi.

Maharashtra?s Shiv Sena MP Dhairyasheel Mane, who was slated to attend ?Mahamela?, organised by pro-Maharashtra outfit Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti(MES) on Monday in Belagavi district, was barred from entering the district. MES-led ?Mahamelava? convention that takes place on the inaugural day of Karnataka assembly’s winter session every year, however, was cancelled after police refused to give permission. Section 144 has also been imposed in the zone.

The Maharashtra vs Karnataka border row also saw heated up assembly sessions in both states on Monday.

TRACK LATEST UPDATES IN MAHARASHTRA-KARNATAKA BORDER ROW:

Attack on Constitution, Insult to Home Minister: Uddhav Sena Condemns Ban on MP?s Entry into Belagavi

Shiv Sena Uddhav Thackeray faction member Arvind Sawant on Monday condemned the ?ban? on the entry of party MP Dhairyasheel Mane into Karnataka?s Belagavi district and called it an attack on the Constitution.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha, the South Mumbai MP also called for Union Home Minister Amit Shah?s intervention in the matter and demanded protection to Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti?s leaders following Karnataka Police?s action against some of them during a protest in Belagavi.

Sawant described the Belagavi district administration?s move as an ?insult? to the Home minister, saying it came close on the heels of Shah advising Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde on resolving the boundary dispute between the two states.

?The ban on the entry of leaders from Maharashtra is an attack on the Constitution. The worst is that our Home Minister is being insulted by non-compliance with the advice that he gave to the chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra for maintaining peace,? Sawant said.

NCP, Congress, Sena Leaders Denied Entry to Belagavi

More than  members of Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP were stopped at the disputed border area of Belagavi and sent back by Karnataka, and some were detained by the Maharashtra police on Monday as they leaders attempted to enter the districts to protest over the border dispute.

As per reports, some leaders of NCP, Sena and Congress were detained and taken into preventive custody. NCP?s Hasan Mushrif, and Shiv Sena?s Kolhapur district president Vijay Devane, were detained while trying to enter Karnataka?s Belagavi.

Belagavi: NCP, MES Stage Protest Near Karnataka-Maharashtra Border

Members of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) and NCP are staging protest at Kognoli Toll Plaza near Karnataka-Maharashtra border over the MES-led ?Mahamelava? convention amid the border dispute between the two states.  Special security arrangements have been put in place for the ?Mahamelava? event by MES and Section 144 was also imposed.

The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) holds the ?Mahamelava? convention each year in Belagavi on the inaugural day of Karnataka assembly’s winter session.

No Need To Politicise Border Row: Maha CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that tor the first time, a Union Home Minister has mediated an inter-state border dispute (Maharashtra & Karnataka). ?There should be no politics on this issue now. We should stand together with the border residents: Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde in Legislative Assembly,? said Shinde in Maharashtra Assembly on Monday.

VD Savarkar?s Portrait Unveiled in K?taka Assembly Hall

Hindutva ideologue VD Savarkar?s portrait was unveiled in Karnataka Assembly hall on Monday. Congress MLAs, meanwhile, have staged a protest with LoP Siddaramaiah writing to Speaker to install portraits of personalities like Valmiki, Basavanna, Kanaka Dasa, BR Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and many others.

Fadnavis Should Become Maha CM?, Says State BJP Chief ; NCP Asks How

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday suggested that as long as he is heading the party?s state unit, deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should become the chief minister for the state?s ?overall development?.

Responding to this, NCP spokesperson Clyde Crasto, in a tweet, sought to know how Bawankule would go about installing Fadnavis as CM within his term as the BJP president. ?Would it be by holding early state polls or by getting Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to resign?? Crasto asked.

Bommai To Unveil Savarkar?s Photo in Belagavi Today

The Karnataka State government will unveil Savarkar?s photo in Belagavi today. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will be doing there at the event. The Opposition is likely to protest or stage a walk out.

Cops Deny Permission For ?Mahamelava?

The district administration and police department denied permission for ?Mahamelava?, which was planned to be organised by the MES at Vaccine depot in Belagavi. Section 144 has been imposed around the area, where ?Mahamelava? was planned to be organised. The platform, which was set for the programme by the MES in Belagavi, was asked to be cleared. Security has been tightened in and around the area.

Maha to Have Lokayukta Law, Bring CMs, Minister Under Its Ambit

Maharashtra will have a Lokayukta law on the lines of the Centre?s Lokpal legislation which will also bring the chief minister and ministers under its ambit, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday ahead of the winter session of the state legislature beginning Monday, Fadnavis said a bill in this regard will be introduced.

The new (to be amended) law is important in terms of bringing “complete transparency” in the state, he said. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the decision was taken in the interest of the people of the state.

“The draft to prepare the new Lokayukta law was passed by the Cabinet and we will be tabling it before the legislature. For the first time, the chief minister and a council of ministers have been brought under the ambit of Lokayukta,” he said.

Make Public The Talks Between Amit Shah and Maha and K?ta CMs

Leader of opposition in the state assembly, Ajit Pawar, has demanded that Karnataka and Maharashtra chief ministers? recent talks with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the border dispute between the two states be made public.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that a proposal pertaining to the Karnataka-Maharashtra border row will be passed in the winter session.

Uddhav To Attend Assembly Session

Uddhav Thackeray to attend the the first day of Maharashtra Assembly session, will leave for Nagpur. The session is likely to have a heated debate over the Maharashtra vs Karnataka border row.

Want Solution of Border Row: Maharashtra CM Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on December 15 said that his government was keen to resolve the long-pending border dispute with Karnataka and did not want to indulge in political mudslinging over the sensitive issue.

Shinde and his Karnataka counterpart Basavraj Bommai on Wednesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi in the backdrop of simmering tension between the two states and attacks on vehicles after the border row flared up.

Talking to reporters here, the Maharashtra CM said Bommai has clarified that he had not tweeted anything that would hurt sentiments of the people of the western state.

Amit Shah Tells States To Set Up Panel, Wait Till SC Verdict

At the Delhi meeting, Shah had asked the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Karnataka to set up a six-member joint ministerial panel to deal with the dispute and not make any territorial claims till the Supreme Court pronounces its verdict on the border row.

When asked about the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)?s criticism on ?fake? Twitter handles of Bommai, Shinde said he did not wish to politicise the issue.

What?s The Issue

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

Karnataka, however, considers the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.