Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday (December 18, 2022) slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for mediating in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war but ignoring the simmering Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. PM Modi mediates in the Russia-Ukraine war but turns a blind eye to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute. This is not a sign of a good politician," he alleged in his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in the party mouthpiece Saamana.
Raut also said that the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka was a struggle for humanity and not a fight between the people and governments of the two states. "The struggle of the Marathi-speaking population in Belagavi and nearby areas who were included in Karnataka against their wishes during the reorganisation of states, cannot be crushed cruelly," the Rajya Sabha MP said. "If the central government and the Supreme Court cannot resolve the issue, where should one seek justice from," he asked. The Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Karnataka's Belagavi district, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of the southern state.