Maha minister Shambhuraj Desai says Karnataka CM's claims on border dispute shouldn`t be taken seriously

Maharashtra cabinet minister Shambhuraj Desai said Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai's claims over the border dispute between the two states should not be taken seriously.

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday appointed cabinet members Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai as nodal ministers to coordinate with the legal team regarding the court case on the border dispute with Karnataka.

Bommai claimed that panchayats in Jat taluka of Maharashtra had passed a resolution in the past to merge with Karnataka when there was a severe drought situation and acute drinking water crisis, and his government has evolved schemes to help them by providing water. The state government is seriously considering it.

The Karnataka CM also said his government has decided to give special grants to Kannada medium schools in Maharashtra and also pension to Kannadigas in the neighboring state who fought for the unification of the state, PTI reported.

As Maharashtra has reconstituted its team to take forward the Karnataka border dispute in the Supreme Court, Bommai has come up with some ridiculous old demand. It should not be taken seriously. The villages in Jat tehsil (of Sangli district) had reportedly passed a resolution more than a decade back to pressurise the then state government to address their demand of water supply for irrigation from the Krishna river, Desai said.