Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said that Solapur and Akkalkot regions in Maharashtra belonged to Karnataka even as he slammed the neighbouring state’s Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his “provocative” statement on the border dispute.
“His (Fadnavis’) dream will never come true. Our government is committed to protect the state’s land, water and border,” Bommai said in a tweet.
Bommai was responding to Fadnavis, who had said that Maharashtra would “fight to get Marathi-speaking villages, including Belgaum, Karwar and Nippani”.
Asserting that there was no question of ceding “even an inch” in Karnataka’s border districts, Bommai said, “Our demand is that the Kannada-speaking areas of Solapur and Akkalkot should belong to Karnataka.”
Bommai pointed out that Maharashtra has been, from 2004, raking up the border dispute, involving Belagavi, by filing a case in the Supreme Court. “Until now, they’ve not been successful. They won’t be successful in the future also. We’re prepared to put up a strong legal fight,” he added.