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,...
The first day of winter session kicked off in the Legislative Council with flares over border row. The opposition unitely condemned Karnataka government’s action of not allowing Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti to hold convention at Belgaum. DCM Devendra Fadnavis also assured the opposition that he would raise the issue with Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the council and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve opened the discussion and said, “The Samiti members were not allowed to hold the convention at Belgaum in Karnataka in which political leaders from Maharashtra were going to participate. The incidents of stone pelting on vehicles bearing registration number of Maharashtra and pictures of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are being reported in the bordering districts of Karnataka.”
Danve further stated that two Maharashtra ministers had announced plans to visit Karnataka. Later, the tour was postponed. The political parties of Maharashtra should unitely fight for justice to the Marathi people living in the bordering district of Karnataka. He also questioned stance of CM Eknath Shinde saying, “The Karnataka CM is aggressively taking a stand on the issue while Maharashtra CM Shinde not responding in same manner,” alleged Danve. He also requested the Maharashtra government to immediately intervene into the border row, Danve compared the situation to India-Pakistan border.
MLC Shashikant Shinde of Congress party also raised the issue and claimed that that a large mob from Maharashtra gathered at Maharashtra-Karnataka border but they were not allowed entry in Karnataka. CM Shinde had a meeting with Union Home minister Amit Shah and Karnatka CM Bommai after which Shah said in a news briefing that he asked both CMs to maintain the status quo. Despite Shah’s order, the Karnataka government indulged in the atrocities against Marathi people, said Shinde, and questioned, “Isn't the Karnataka government following Shah’s orders?”
MLA Adv Abhijeet Wanjari of Congress party alleged that the Karnataka government was indulging in propaganda manipulation against Marathi people on social media. He urged the State government to immediately intervene in the issue.
MLC Jayant Patil, General Secretary of the Peasants and Workers Party of India, said that the status quo should be maintained by the Karnataka government till the result of the Supreme Court. Earlier, minimum six MLAs of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti were used to got elected from Belgaum. The Karnataka government increased the population of Kannada speaking people in the region in the past few years. As a result, not a single MLA of the Samiti is getting elected from the region, he claimed.
In a reply, DCM Devendra Fadnavis said that Shah’s intervention in the border was important to cool the situation. He went on to condemn stone pelting on the vehicles of Maharashtra. “A committee of six ministers (three from each state) would be formed to de-escalate the tension,” he said. Fadnavis also condemned Karnataka government’s decision of not allowing samiti members to conduct a convention and said that it is violation of constitutional rights.
He further said that the State government chalked out plans to introduce a special scheme for bordering villages of the State. A handful of villagers wished to merge with Telangana recently. Speaking on the issue, DCM Fadnavis said that as per the intelligence report, some political leaders of bordering villages conducted meetings and passed the resolution so that they would get a special package for development from Maharashtra government.
Bills tabled in the council
A bill to amend Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University Act, 1989, Kavi Kulguru Kalidas Sanskrit Vishwavidhyalaya (University) Act, 1997 and Maharashtra Public University Act, 2016; another bill to amend the Maharashtra Agricultural Produce Marketing (Development and Regulation) Act, 1963; a bill to amend the Maharashtra Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Samitis Act, 1961 and others bills were tabled by DCM Fadnavis.
Panels of presiding officers
Chairperson of the council Neelam Gorhe nominated Niranjan Dawkhare, Abhijeet Wanjari, Narendra Darade and Aniket Tatkare as panels of presidents officers.
Condolence motion for Patil, Sant and Aher
A condolence motion for Late Suresh Vitthalrao Patil, Prabhakar Anant Sant and Shantaram Punjaji Aher, who passed away recently, was tabled in the house. The condolence motion was unanimously approved by the members of the house. A moment of silence was also observed.
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