Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut said that they will enter the neighboring state just like China has entered, we will enter (Karnataka) We don't need anyone's permission. We want to solve it through discussion but Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai is igniting fire. There is a weak govt in Maharashtra and is not taking any stand on it.
Earlier 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.