Sitting amid the blackened remains of his home, 32-year-old Nikesh Gawali carefully broke open a half-melted plastic box with a screwdriver. His hands shook slightly, not out of fear, but out of hope. “I’m trying to find my daughter Aarti’s gold earrings,” he said quietly, still focused on the box. “She’s just five. I got them made recently after months of labour work.” The plastic box, warped and blackened by heat, was one of the few things left from his two-room house on the outskirts of Dhamangaon village . All around him lay ash, broken tin sheets and charred wooden beams. The walls had cracked under the heat and the front room’s tin roof had caved in completely. What remained was a blackened debris all around - almost nothing to suggest a home once stood there. Nikesh earns his living as an agricultural labourer, like many in the village. Work is uncertain and depends on the season. Those earrings weren’t just jewellery - they were a small dream, a reward for his hard work,...
While speaking on the raging boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday demanded in the state Legislative Council that the Union government should declare ‘Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra’ areas as a Union Territory and the resolution in this regard should be passed in the house. He also fired a salvo at the Shinde-Fadnavis government for failing to corner the Karnataka government on the issue.
This was the first time Thackeray attended proceedings of State legislators after resigning as the Chief Minister in July. Thackeray said, “Marathi language and culture rooted in the Belgaum (Belgavi) area since 1800. It is not just a case of language and border, but of ‘humanity’.”
These Marathi-speaking people are facing atrocities from the Karnataka government, he said and demanded that the ‘Karnataka-occupied Maharashtra’ areas should be declared as Union Territory by the Central Government till the issue is pending before the Supreme Court.
He also highlighted that a resolution in this regard should be passed in the council and must be forwarded to the Union government. “Only discussing the issue in the house would not help the Marathi speaking people living in Karnataka. We should have to pass this resolution,” he said.
The matter is sub-judice and there is a status quo on it, but who is spoiling the atmosphere? he asked, apparently targeting the Karnataka government.
“Many Kannada speaking people are living in Maharashtra. But they were never targeted here,” he said.
He also criticised CM Eknath Shinde for not going against Karnataka CM Basavraj Bommai. “Shinde’s supporters are claiming that he was in jail while fighting over the Karnataka border row. It is true. But that time he was with us. Now, he has changed the party and not uttered a word against Bommai,” stated Thackeray.
The Karnataka state reiterated that not an inch of land would be given to Maharashtra. Why is the Shinde-Fadnavis government not replying to the Karnataka government in the same language ? asked Thackearay. The Bharatiya Janata Party is ruling Karnataka, Maharashtra and Union government, he stated and questioned the central government's role as ‘guardian’ of both the states. Has the central government acted as guardian. We expect the central government to act as the guardian, he said.
He also said (members of) both the Houses should watch the movie 'Case for Justice' and read a book penned by Barrister A R Antulay.
Further, Thackeary said that When the Belagavi Municipal Corporation passed a resolution for merger with Maharashtra, the Karnataka government immediately suspended the corporation. Recently, some Gram Panchayats of Maharashtra had demanded a merger with other states. Does the Shinde government have courage to even act against these gram panchayats? he asked.
Rajya Sabha member and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, Yuva Sena leader Varun Sardesai were present in the visitors' gallery of the House.
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