Published Oct 31, 2023 | 5:33 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 31, 2023 | 5:34 PM
A file photo of the Karnataka Police preventing the members of Maha Vikas Aghadi from entering Karnataka at Kaganolli interstate checkpost on December 19, 2023. (Pic - supplied)
Tensions in Karnataka’s border regions recently escalated as the state’s Department of Transport suspended bus services to Maharashtra, amid ongoing protests over Maratha reservation since the night of Monday, 30 October.
The situation intensified when the Belagavi District Administration denied permission for the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti to observe a “Black Day” on the same day as Kannada Rajyotsava.
Additionally, three Maharashtra ministers and a Shiv Sena MP have been barred from entering Belagavi city until 2 November, based on apprehensions that their participation might threaten the law-and-order situation in the region, adding a new dimension to the simmering border tensions.
Both the North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) and the Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) have completely suspended services to Maharashtra after one of the state-operated buses was set on fire by unknown miscreants during a Maratha reservation agitation near the Karnataka-Maharashtra border on Monday evening.
Meanwhile, pro-Kannada organisations demanded that the Karnataka government take stringent action by filing a contempt case against its Maharashtra counterpart before the apex court.
Belagavi Deputy Commissioner (DC) Nitesh Patil has issued a directive to prohibit three Maharashtra ministers and a Member of Parliament (MP) from entering the district from 31 October to 2 November.
The decision comes in light of the Maratha Ekikaran Samiti’s (MES) planned Black Day programme at Maratha Mandir under the Tilakwadi Police Station limits on the same day as Karnataka Rajyotsava, which was anticipated to witness the participation of Maharashtra’s Ministers Shambhuraj Desai, Chandrakant (Dada) Patil, and Deepak Kesarakar, as well as Shiv Shena MP Dhairyasheel S Mane.
In a letter to the Belagavi DC, Belagavi City Commissioner of Police (CP) SN Siddaramappa said: “The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka, currently under consideration in the Supreme Court, has raised concerns about potential provocations during the event. The report suggests that the mentioned ministers and MPs may address the border dispute provocatively, posing a potential threat to law and order in Belagavi city.”
Given the sensitive nature of the border dispute, the officials feared that the presence and speeches of Maharashtra’s dignitaries could escalate tensions and lead to clashes between MES activists and pro-Kannada organisations.
The possibility of linguistic discord and unrest among Marathi-speaking residents of Karnataka was also cited as a potential consequence.
In order to maintain law and order, protect public tranquillity, and prevent untoward incidents, the Belagavi DC invoked Section 144 (3) of the CrPC 1973.
“The prohibition order restricts the entry of Maharashtra’s ministers and MP into Belagavi City and Belagavi District boundaries from 6 am on 31 October to 6 pm on 2 November. The decision aims to mitigate the risk of provocative speeches, potential damage to public property, and disturbances to peace during this period,” he noted in his order.
The Belagavi district police have made elaborate security arrangements at interstate checkposts as well as in sensitive cities and towns.
The Karnataka Transport Department suspended all bus services to the neighbouring state after a KKRTC bus was set on fire at Maharashtra’s Osmanabad on Monday evening.
The vehicle was set ablaze by protesters at Umarga near Osmanabad in Maharashtra during the ongoing agitation for Maratha reservation.
However, no one was injured in the incident, a transport department official said on Tuesday. The bus belonging to the state-owned KKRTC was proceeding to Pune in Maharashtra from Karnataka’s Bidar district’s Bhalki when the incident occurred.
ಮಹಾರಾಷ್ಟ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಮೀಸಲಾತಿ ಸಂಬಂಧ ಹೋರಾಟ ಹಿನ್ಮೆಲೆ #ಸೋಮವಾರ ಕಾರ್ಯಚರಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿದ್ದ @KKRTC_Journeys ಸೇರಿದ ಭಾಲ್ಕಿ-ಪುಣೆ ನಡುವಿನ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ KA-38 F-1201 ಬಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಉಮರ್ಗಾ ಬಳಿ ತರುರಿ ಗ್ರಾಮದಲ್ಲಿ ಬೆಂಕಿ ಹಚ್ಚಿದ ಪರಿಣಾಮ ಅಂತರಾಜ್ಯ ಬಸ್ ಕಾರ್ಯಾಚರಣೆ ತಾತ್ಮಾಲಿಕ ಸ್ಥಗಿತಗೊಳಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ#ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಾಪಕ ನಿರ್ದೇಶಕ ಎಂ.ರಾಚಪ್ಪ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ pic.twitter.com/q6wyz4mMUM
— DIPR-KALABURAGI (@Kalaburgivarthe) October 30, 2023
“No one was injured in this incident as the protesters deboarded all the passengers and set the bus on fire. Quickly alternative arrangements were made to take the passengers to their destination,” KKRTC Managing Director M Rachappa told reporters.
“We will stop bus operations till normalcy is restored,” he added.
Subsequently, the NWKRTC and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) all suspended bus services to Maharashtra.
NWKRTC MD Bharat Selvan told South First: “As protest over Maratha reservation has intensified in Maharashtra, we have stopped all the bus services to the neighbouring state from Tuesday.”
He added: “We will resume operations only after the instructions of the police department. None of the buses belonging to NWKRTC were harmed.”
Every day, around 1,000 buses from the state-run corporations of Karnataka operate in various cities and towns of Maharashtra.
Taking an exception to the activities of the Maharashtra government on the border dispute, pro-Kannada organisations have demanded that the Siddaramaiah government file a contempt case against the neighbouring state.
Belagavi Kannada Organisations Action Committee president Ashok Chandaragi told South First: “Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was provoking the Maratha people residing in Belagavi and border areas. Shinde making provocative statements is against the federal structure.”
He added: “As the border dispute case is still before the Supreme Court, no state can provoke the other. It leads to contempt of court. The Karnataka government must file a contempt case against Maharashtra to curb its activities in Karnataka.”
He continued: “The Karnataka government must also restrict the activities of the MES in Belagavi. But they are not doing it effectively. Under the headship of Union minister Amit Shah, the Karnataka and Maharashtra government came to agreements on the matter in terms of maintaining peace and tranquillity across the border. Why is the Maharashtra government violating the agreements frequently? The state government must raise the issue before the Union Ministry.”
He noted: “Shah had even constituted a coordination committee between the two states, but no concrete development was witnessed on this front. He should caution the Maharashtra government as his own party is at the helm there, along with the Shiv Sena and the NCP. Only the Union government can interfere in the matter. The state government should take strong action against the activities of Maharashtra in Karnataka.”
The Supreme Court will take up the hearing in the ongoing Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute case in January 2024.
Karnataka’s Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil asserted that he would hold talks with all the stakeholders on the matter.
He told reporters in Vijayapura on Tuesday: “The ongoing Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute was scheduled to come for hearing before the Supreme Court on 1 November. On Monday, the apex court postponed the hearing to January 2024.”
He added: “We have got two months; the government will deliberate with stakeholders, including Kannada organisations.”
He also said: “I will also hold detailed discussions with the chief minister on taking further steps on the border dispute.”
