The Hindu : Front Page : Ashok Chavan meets Manmohan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jul 15, 2010
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Front Page

Front Page

Ashok Chavan meets Manmohan

Smita Gupta

Memorandum seeking protection for Marathi-speaking minority to be examined

— Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan (centre), Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal (right) and others arrive to address a press conference after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi on Wednesday.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan that the all-party memorandum given to him, appealing for protection of the Marathi-speaking minority in the disputed border districts of Karnataka, would be given to the Union Home Minister for further examination. Mr. Chavan, addressing a crowded press conference here, said, “The Prime Minister told us that the principle of protection of linguistic minorities was enshrined in the Constitution.”

Matter sub judice

He, however, added that the Prime Minister had not commented on the Centre's affidavit in the Supreme Court on its boundary row with Karnataka.

“He told us that as the matter was sub judice, he could not comment on the issue.” Mr. Chavan said, in answer to a question, that while he had sought Union Territory status for the disputed areas, he was now endorsing the all-party resolution passed on Tuesday on the floor of the Maharashtra Assembly, in which this demand did not figure.

The decades-old border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka was revived after the Centre recently filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on the issue, saying that language could not be the only criteria for deciding boundaries of States. This was a blow to Maharashtra, which has been demanding that 865 villages in Marathi-speaking districts such as Belgaum and Gulbarga in Karnataka be merged with it.

On Wednesday, Mr. Chavan arrived in Delhi with an all-party delegation to present a copy of the all-party resolution passed by the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday, seeking Central intervention to protect the Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka's border districts, and asking for “neutrality” in the case pending in the apex court.

“We asked the Prime Minister that the Centre should maintain neutrality in the Supreme Court. We can win the case on merit,” he said. He also requested the Prime Minister to instruct the Karnataka government to maintain status quo in the border districts until the case was decided.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page