"Will Ensure Maha Does Not Give an Inch of Land", Abdul Sattar on Land Dispute with Karnataka

While speaking with the media during an agriculture fair held in Nagpur on Saturday, state agriculture minister Abdul Sattar said that Maharashtra will not provide Karnataka even an inch of its territory, and if necessary, all the political parties will come together to combat the hostility displayed by Karnataka.

There is no place for aggressive words or behavior given that the case is still sub judice. However, if Karnataka persists, all parties working across party lines will try to prevent Maharashtra from ceding even an inch of its land, he added.

He also said that the state was taking all the necessary steps to give all the communities the infrastructure they needed in order to join forces with neighboring states. The BJP is currently in power in both the states and at the federal level, according to Sattar, making this the ideal time to put an end to the boundary dispute between the states.

Consequently, this is the ideal moment and place to finally address the border issue, he noted, while stressing that he is confident that Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will properly consider the situation and find a quick solution.

Maharashtra-Karnataka Border Row:

Certain regions in the southern edge of Maharashtra, on the border with Karnataka, found themselves caught in a controversy after India's landmark act of 1956 to redraw state boundaries and the formation of the state of Maharashtra four years later, on May 1, 1960.

Since its creation, Maharashtra has claimed on more than 800 villages that Karnataka had been awarded, including Belagavi (formerly Belgaum), Karwar, and Nipani. The southern state, in turn, has resisted giving up any of its land.

A government body known as the Mahajan Commission rejected Maharashtra's claim to Belgaum in 1966 and recommended a settlement that involved an exchange of some regions. The state rejected the proposal, while Karnataka accepted it.

Following multiple failed attempts to resolve the conflict over the following four decades, Maharashtra petitioned the Supreme Court in 2004.

The two states have been in a standoff ever since, with the case still going on in the Apex Court. The state structure from 1960 was upheld by the Congress-led central government in 2010.

The dispute has recently erupted with the appointment of two senior ministers to intensify the legal and political battle by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde two weeks ago, in what seems like an eager attempt to show his support for the state's concerns.

A meeting with the chief ministers of both states has been scheduled for next week by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, after political cadres attacked and painted over buses from both states on Tuesday and Wednesday in Belagavi and Pune.