Bangalore: Accusing the BJP governments in Karnataka and Maharashtra of manufacturing the border dispute, the Congress on Wednesday questioned the need for legislatures to pass resolutions when Union Home Minister Amit Shah had chaired a meeting on the issue.
“There is no border issue. It has been created by the BJP governments in Karnataka and Maharashtra,” Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar said.
“This is a ploy by the ‘triple-engine’ government of Karnataka, Maharashtra and the Centre,” he said, taking a dig at the “double-engine government” claim made about the BJP ruling both at the Centre and in the states.
“Home Minister had called both of them (chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra) and asked them to come up with some formula. After all this, why do you need resolutions?” Shivakumar said.
He also urged Shah to clarify his stance about the dispute.
The Congress leader said neither state would accept any decision to cede an inch of land. “That is not possible. Politically you are playing hide and seek,” he said.
Shivakumar reiterated his demand that an all-party delegation from Karnataka go to New Delhi, saying that it was essential to know the stances of the Centre as well as the BJP units of both states. “Whatever views we have, we will convey it to the central government. Because we know that BJP MPs (from Karnataka) and the BJP government do not have any strength to speak before the high command,” he said, adding that they had not sent a single delegation till date to sort out any issues faced by the state.
The Congress wants to know Shah’s position on the dispute, he said. After the meetings and discussions between the chief ministers, are the governments “trying to see that (there is) no peace here?”, he asked.
In reply to a question, Shivakumar said that Maharashtra was hurting the sentiments of the Karnataka people by passing a resolution that declared more than 800 villages to be part of it. “They are creating a nuisance,” he said.
