Maha-K'taka border dispute: Activists of Swarajya Sanghatana deface signboard of bank

Activists of Swarajya Sanghatana on Wednesday smeared black paint on the signboard of Karnataka Bank at its branch in Nashik city of Maharashtra amid a simmering border dispute between the two states. They wrote ‘Jai Maharashtra’ on the shutter of the bank and shouted slogans against the Karnataka government.

The Sanghatana was founded by Sambhajiraje Bhosale Chhatrapati, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. At least 20 activists of the Sanghatana clad in black clothes and holding saffron flags carried out the protest at the Canada Corner branch of the Karnataka Bank in the morning.

“If organisations in Karnataka think they have achieved something big by damaging vehicles from Maharashtra, we warn them we will not allow even a single vehicle from Karnataka to enter Maharashtra. We will not allow Karnataka people to do any business here,” said Swarajya Sanghatana spokesperson Karan Gaikar.

The decades-old raging dispute between the two states spilled onto roads on Tuesday with stones being hurled at vehicles entering Karnataka from the Maharashtra side near a toll booth at Hirebaugwadi in Belagavi district of the southern state. Similarly, at least four buses from Karnataka were defaced in Pune district allegedly by activists of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) faction and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

Gaikar said if the Maharashtra government fails to give a befitting reply to the Karnataka government, activists of the Sanghatana will go to Karnataka.