New Delhi: Seeking to defuse the border tensions between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Union home minister Amit Shah asked the two chief ministers to wait for the Supreme Court verdict on the dispute and set up a six-member joint ministerial panel to address related issues.
Shah also told Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and his Karnataka counterpart, Basavaraj Bommai, that the border issue needed to be settled only through constitutional means. After meeting Shah, the two CMs agreed not to press their territorial claims and wait for the apex court’s verdict.
“It was also agreed in the meeting that no state will claim each other's land till the decision of the Supreme Court and three ministers each from both the states will meet and discuss this issue in detail,” Shah told reporters after the meeting.
Shah alleged fake tweets in the name of top leaders inflamed the sentiments in both states. “FIRs will be registered and culprits brought to book,” the home minister said and hoped that opposition leaders in both states “will not give political colour to this issue in the interest of the general public”.
Earlier, Shinde had raised the issue of certain tweets allegedly made from an account of the Karnataka chief minister. Maharashtra deputy CM Fadnavis said Shinde also flagged the issue of Bommai “issuing directives” to Karnataka officers in Belagavi to “prevent the visit of ministers from Maharashtra” to the region. Bommai clarified that the directives were given as there were apprehensions about a law and order situation in Belagavi.
Shah said a committee under the chairmanship of an IPS officer will be formed to maintain law and order and ensure peaceful passage of people, transport and goods from one state to the other. The home minister had summoned the CMs of the two states after border tensions flared up recently leading to violence in Belagavi and the adjoining regions of Karnataka which have a sizeable Marathi-speaking population.