Maha-Karnataka border issue: Authorities prohibit entry of Shiv Sena MP to Belagavi to take part in protest

BELAGAVI, (PTI): The district administration has prohibited the entry of Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Dhairyasheel Mane to the Belagavi city to take part in an event organised by Madhyavarti Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MMES) on Monday.

The MMES has organised a protest at the Vaccine Depot Ground in Tilakwadi in the district headquarter town of Belagavi as the 10-day winter session of Karnataka Legislature starts here.

Dhairyasheel Mane, a Lok Sabha member from Hatkanangle constituency, had written to the district authorities to make arrangements for his visit.

In his letter to the police commissioner of Belagavi city, Mane said he should be provided a pilot car and escort along with Y+ category security.

But, the Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi district Nitesh K Patil issued a prohibitory order banning Mane’s entry.

Patil said the MP would take part in the event organised by the MMES where it is likely that he may deliver inflammatory speeches, which would lead to linguistic conflict and create a law and order problem. This would eventually lead to damage to public properties.

“In order to maintain law and order and uphold peace, I, Nitesh K Patil, District Magistrate, Belagavi District exercising powers under section 144 of the CrPC, issue this order to initiate steps to prevent the entry of Maharashtra MP Dhairyasheel Mane from entering the border of Belagavi district,” the order read.

Meanwhile, a MMES leader Suraj Kanbarkar told PTI that the police have given permission to hold the event at Vaccine Depot.

“However, we are not sure which leader from Maharashtra is likely to attend the event here though we have given invitation to all the important people,” he said.

Amid the border row between Karnataka and Maharashtra, the MMES organised the event to protest the winter session of Karnataka legislature in Belagavi.

Maharashtra has been demanding the merger of Belagavi with it saying that the district has a substantial Marathi population.

The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti which had been fighting for this cause for over five decades had been able to send its members to the Karnataka Assembly to raise their demand.

However, in the current Karnataka Assembly, the Samiti does not have any representative.

Karnataka has always maintained that the border dispute was settled by the Mahajan Committee and there was no question of letting go any piece of land to any other State.

The political parties of Maharashtra, according to the sources in ruling BJP, always supported the Samiti to carry on with activities. (PTI)