Shiv Sena MP says Marathi-speaking people in Belgaum under threat; BJP members counter

New Delhi/Belagavi: Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant on Monday raised in Parliament the issue of alleged attacks on his party workers in Karnataka’s Belgaum district and alleged that Marathi-speaking people in the region were under threat.

Speaking during the Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Sawant said states were organized after independence on the basis of language, and Belgaum was not merged with Karnataka.

Sawant’s remarks evoked a strong response from BJP MPs from Karanataka who got up from their seat and started protesting.

BJP member from Karanataka Shivkumar Udasi said the Shiv Sena compromised its Hindutva ideology for the sake of power and now its MP raising the issue to distract the attention of Maharashtra people from his party’s misrule in the state.

Udasi said the Belgaum issue has been settled long back.