Supreme Court is lsated to hear the matter on July 11.
After fighting the case in the Supreme Court for nearly 12 years to get Belgaum and adjoining areas back from Karnataka, the Maharashtra government has realised that the Centre's stand in the case is "inclined towards Karnataka" rather than being neutral.
The realisation, which has come days ahead of the SC hearing in the matter slated for July 11, not only indicates trust deficit between the Centra and Maharashtra government, but also raises a question mark over neutrality of the solicitor general. The Centre is the party in this matter.
An internal government document accessed by dna reads, "In the written statement filed in the court in the original suit in 2004, the Centre has taken neutral stand but in the previous hearings and pleadings their stand is inclined towards Karnataka." (sic)
The Fadnavis government has now decided to convey to the Centre to remain neutral, a member of the high-powered committee on the border dispute told dna. The committee, headed by Chandrakant Patil, who is minister of PWD and border dispute, met on Thursday to iron out issues and select lawyers to represent the state in the apex court. The committee also finalised a list of various experts-cum-witnesses to depose before the SC committee to support Maharashtra's stand.
Soon after the BJP came to power, organisations fighting for the merger of the disputed area with Maharashtra had intensified their stir by re-branding their movement as "Second Samyukta Maharashtra Andolan". Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had expressed wholehearted support to the cause after taking charge.
On the other hand, Karnataka recently erected an assembly building in Belgaum. It has also got Centre's nod to change its name to Belgavi. The development led to unrest among the Marathi-speaking people there.
Situated near the foothills of the Sahyadris, a mineral-rich Belgaum has been the bone of contention between the two states. There are 865 villages spread in Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar and Gulberga districts for which Maharashtra has been staking its claim for the past 60 years on linguistic grounds. In 2004, Maharashtra had approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Centre's decision of inclusion of the 865 Marathi-speaking villages in Karnataka. The case is still on. The Marathi-speaking people in the disputed area often complain about discrimination and harassment by Kannadiga civic authorities.
What is the issue?
The Belgaum district was a part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency. After India became independent in 1947, it became a part of the Bombay State. In 1948, the Belgaum Municipality requested the Indian Constituent Assembly and the Boundary Commission to include Belgaum Municipal District in the proposed Samyukta Maharashtra state due to its large Marathi-speaking population. But, in 1956, the Belgaum district was incorporated into the newly formed Mysore state (now Karnataka) in accordance with the States Reorganisation Act of 1956. Following protests from Maharashtra, the Centre constituted a commission headed by justice MC Mahajan in 1966, which recommended that Belgaum be a part of Karnataka. While the Centre and Karnataka accepted the commission's recommendation, Maharashtra moved court.
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