Sanjay Raut calls for all-party visit to Belgaum following 'attack on Marathi people'

Amid the ongoing border row between Maharashtra and Karnataka, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday alleged that Marathi people residing in Karnataka's Belgaum were being attacked and said that an all-party delegation from Maharashtra should visit the region.

Raut also attacked the BJP-led central government, saying that the Centre has turned a blind eye towards the problem and is only concerned about poll-bound West Bengal.

"The BJP and Centre are concerned about violence in West Bengal and that their people are being attacked. No one is talking about the attack on Marathi people for the last eight days. I appeal to the Chief Minister, Deputy CM to go to Belgaum with an all-party delegation to support our people," said Raut.

"The Maharashtra and Karnataka dispute is a language dispute. It shouldn't be stretched too far," he added.

His remarks came a day after Karnataka Rakshana Vedike activists in Belgaum also known as Belgavi, had blackened and removed signages and hoardings written in Marathi language.

The border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka began after the States Reorgzation Act of 1956 made Belgaum and 10 talukas of Bombay State (formerly part of erstwhile Bombay Presidency) a part of then Mysore state.

The issue of the disputed border area has been pending in the Supreme Court for several years.

Belagavi, Karwar, and Nip are part of Karnataka and have Marathi-speaking people. Right from the beginning, Maharashtra has asserted its claim over these districts while the Karnataka government has opposed the assertion.

( With inputs from ANI )