The Hindu : Karnataka News : Mahajan report final: Dharam Singh

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka

Mahajan report final: Dharam Singh

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MARCH 15. The Chief Minister, N. Dharam Singh, today asserted in the Legislative Assembly that the Mahajan Commission report on the border dispute with Maharashtra was final and the Government was watching the developments in this connection.

"There is no change in the Government's stand. The Mahajan Commission report is final," the Chief Minister said in the House during zero hour.

Earlier, Vatal Nagaraj (Kannada Chaluvali) and J.C. Madhuswamy of Janata Dal (United) raised the issue and criticised the Maharashtra Governor, S.M. Krishna's statement on the border dispute with the State in his address to the joint session of the Maharashtra Legislature on Monday.

The Maharashtra Governor had in his speech said: "Considering the feelings of the Marathi-speaking people, I promise that my Government shall pursue diligently the case filed in the Supreme Court for resolving the long-pending Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute." Mr. Nagaraj wanted the House to adopt a resolution condemning the Maharashtra Governor's statement. He claimed that the former Chief Minister (Mr. Krishna) had betrayed the people of the State and said the House should discuss the fallout of his remark. When the House did not heed to Mr. Nagaraj's demand, he staged a walkout. Immediately, two members elected with the support of the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samithi (MES) walked out of the House expressing displeasure over Mr. Nagaraj's demand.

Mr. Madhuswamy said the Maharashtra Governor referred to the matter in his address following pressure from the Opposition parties in the Maharashtra Assembly. But the BJP members took exception to Mr. Madhuswamy's statement and said the Governor's address was drafted by the ruling Congress-National Congress Party in that State and not the Opposition.

The Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, H.K. Patil, intervened and said it was not a good augury to discuss the speech of a Governor of another State in the House. Mr. Krishna was a member of this House for many years and he too had been in favour of implementing the Mahajan Commission report, he said. Mr. Patil said there was no question of reopening the dispute with Maharashtra. The Government had, on November 19, 2004, filed a written statement in the Supreme Court. It had raised both legal and constitutional questions regarding the maintainability of the suit filed by Maharashtra, he said.

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