Border dispute: ‘Impossible to solve 60-year border row in one hour’

The boundary dispute with Karnataka caused a flutter on the first day of the winter session of the state Assembly in Nagpur The Opposition raised the issue of arrest of and assault on Marathispeaking protesters by Karnataka cops and demanded to know what the Shinde government was doing about itDeputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said he would lodge a protest with the neighbouring CM and added ldquoIt is not possible to resolve a 60yearold issue in an hourrdquoThe Opposition protested against the arrest of Marathispeaking people by the police of the neighbouring state and demanded to know what the Shinde government was doing about itCops lathicharge Marathispeaking protesters at Kognoli toll plaza in Karnataka as tweeted by MLA Hasan Mushrif PicTwittermrhasanmushrifDeputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the government will try for the release of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti members who have been arrested He added that the Maharashtra government will lodge a complaint with their Karnataka counterpartPolice atrocities have been reported from the border areas where the Samiti has been protesting for the merger of Belagavi with Maharashtra claiming the district has a substantial Marathi populationAlso read Security stepped up across Belagavi as 10day Karnataka Legislature session beginsThe Karnataka police allegedly lathicharged MLA Hasan Mushrif of NCP a former Maharashtra minister with lathis when he went to support the agitation He tweeted that he was peacefully marching with the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti members ldquobut we were beaten with lathis It is unfortunate that a public representative was treated this way along with peaceful protestersrdquoMP Dhairyashil Mane of the Shinde Shiv Sena was denied entry into Belagavi on Monday as Section 144 was in place there Mane had sought permission from the Belagavi collector who said no in the name of law and orderOpposition leader Ajit Pawar raised the issue in the lower house and members of the upper house also demanded to know what was the Maharashtra governmentrsquos next moveFadnavis told the upper house that the government was in support of the Marathispeaking people in Karnataka ldquoThe Union government has intervened in the matter and we presented our side to Home Minister Amit Shah It is not possible to resolve a 60yearold issue in an hour People have the right to protest in a democratic manner It is wrong to arrest Marathispeaking people We will try to get them releasedrdquo he saidThe border dispute which is pending in the Supreme Court has intensified over the past fortnight Violence against protesters and inciting statements by the Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai led to the intervention of Amit ShahThe Union minister met the CMs and home ministers of both the states and suggested forming of a sixminister committee to resolve the local issues and asked both states not to escalate the disputeBommai has said politicians from Maharashtra were welcome to his stateFadnavis also said that the government has sanctioned a fund of Rs 2000 crore for villages in the Sangli district that have demanded a merger with Karnataka The fund is for the Mhaisal lift irrigation scheme and several others