Sena asks govt to fine tune strategy on boundary row with Karnataka

Mumbai, Mar 20 (UNI) Shiv Sena today warned the Maharashtra government against taking its long-standing boundary dispute with neighbouring Karnataka, now in the Supreme Court, ''lightly''.

Speaking on the debate on the motion of thanks on the governor's address to the siting of the State legislature, Mr Subhash Desai (Sena) said the vexed issue has reached its final legal battle and the State government should take no chances.

He said Maharashtra and Karnataka have already replied to the Supreme Court notices on the issue. But, the Centre has not done. Mr Desai urged the Congress-NCP to prevail upon Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil to reply to the SC notice.

''Atleast, you should persue with the Union Home Minister that he should not take anti-Maharashtra stand'', Mr Desai said.

The Sena leader felt that the legal panel under the high powered committee empowered to resolve the issue should be headed by a legal luminary only. Mr Desai said rest of the panel are legal experts and even though the present head of the panel prof N D Patil is an intellectual and highly knowlegeable person, he is not a legal brain.

He said the case before the Supreme Court is a highly technical issue and needs a legal expert who is well versed with the legal nitty gritty.

He said he had introduced advocate Vasant Bhandare to Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Avocate Bhandare is a legal luminary who is well versed with the more than four decade old dispute and has also written a book on it.

Mr Desai said the 20 lakh Marathi speaking population of the bordering areas were subjected to injustice. ''Government aid for Marathi medium schools have been withdrawn and marathi language newspapers are banned in the schools.'' UNI MR KD RL DB2125