Atmosphere of terror in Karnataka’s Marathi-speaking areas: BJP ally in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: A Lok Sabha member from the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, an ally of the BJP, on Friday accused the BJP government in Karnataka of resorting to “strong-arm tactics” against the state’s Marathi-speaking areas.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Dhairyasheel Mane, the member from Maharashtra’s Hatkanangle, said the Marathi-speaking parts of Karnataka had been witnessing protests and agitations and there was an “atmosphere of terror” in the region.

“The state government there, the chief minister has made some statement that has caused anxiety among the people there. There is tension along the border. A law and order problem has arisen,” Mane said.

He said Karnataka Police had been resorting to strong-arm tactics in a big way and the Kannada Vedike organisation was treating Marathi-speaking people in an unjust manner.

“There is apprehension of state-sponsored injustice to the people there,” said Mane, who supported Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde when he walked out of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena to form a government with support from the BJP.

The Karnataka-Maharashtra border row escalated into violence after vehicles from both states were attacked and damaged in Belgaon and Pune.

Since its creation on May 1, 1960, Maharashtra has claimed that 865 villages, including Belgaon (now Belgavi), Karwar and Nippani, should be merged into Maharashtra.