Police stop Shiv Sena activists from entering Belagavi at Maharashtra border

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Shiv Sena activists on their way towards Belagavi to participate in the 'black day' event by Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), on the occasion of Karnataka formation day, were prevented entry by the police at the border between the two states on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.

They were stopped at Kognoli check post in Nippani taluk on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway in Belagavi, police said, reported PTI.

According to police, about 30 Shiv Sena activists led by its Kolhapur district President Vijay Devane were stopped at the border from entering Belagavi and handed over to Kolhapur Police, reported PTI.

MES, which has been fighting for the merger of several Marathi-speaking areas and villages of the state with Maharashtra for long, observes 'Karnataka Rajyotsava' day as a black day every year, reported PTI.

The Belagavi administration had on Tuesday banned three Maharashtra ministers and an MP from entering this border district citing maintenance of law and order, as they are expected to participate in the "black day" event, foreseeing the chances of them making provocative speeches during the visit, also Kannada activists could gherao them, and it could result in clashes with MES activists, reported PTI.

Maharashtra Ministers Shambhuraje Desai, Chandrakant Patil, Deepak Kesarkar and MP Dhairyasheel Mane were expected to attend the MES event, official sources told PTI.

MES had recently met Maharashtra Chief Minister Ekanath Shinde at Kolhapur, seeking his support on the boundary issue and requesting that he send representatives to take part in the MES event, reported PTI.

The border issue dates back to 1957 when states were reorganised on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population, and over 800 Marathi-speaking border villages that are currently a part of Karnataka.

Karnataka maintains that the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report is final.

To assert that Belagavi is an integral part of the state, Karnataka built the 'Suvarna Vidhana Soudha' there, modelled on the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the State Legislature and Secretariat in Bengaluru.

(With inputs from PTI)