Vatal Paksha and MES legislators stage walkout

Belgaum, Sep 28 (UNI) Legislators from the Kannada Vatal Paksha and Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) today staged walkout from the Assembly during the special session.

While Mr Nagaraj (Vatal Paksha) staged walkout protesting against Governor T N Chaturvedi making speech both in Kannada and English, Digamber Patil and Manohar Kinekar (both MES) walked out stating that Marathi people were being treated as ''second rate citizens.'' Mr Nagraj, before walking out, complained that during the past our and half years, the Governor ''had not learnt a single word of Kannada. This special session is a drama. Kannadigas living in the border areas and outside still await justice''.

The MES legislators clad in black and having gags over their mouths staged the walk out as soon as Mr Chaturvedi began his speech. ''Marathi people are being treated as second rate citizen in Karnataka&the people of Maharashtra and the Union Government have rejected Mahajan Commission report on the border row,'' they said.

Once outside the house both Mr Nagaraj and MES legislators engaged in a spat with MES legislators objected to the behavior of Mr Nagaraj for shouting counter slogans against Marathi-speaking people in front of them outside the house.

Later, talking to newsmen, both MES members claimed that Mahajan Commission report has been rejected by the central government. To defend their claim they distributed copies of a letter written by former Prime Minister the late Rajiv Gandhi to former Chief Minister, the late Ramakrishna Hegde on the subject from the book Correspondence between Chief Minister and the Prime Minister and Union Ministers, Volume IX (August 1986).

''The Karnataka-Maharashtra dispute has been long drawn out.

Subsequent to the Mahajan Award, some proposals were placed before Parliament, which cannot be lost sight of. It would be ideal for the two states to get together and sort things out'' Mr Gandhi had said in his letter to Mr Hegde on July 2, 1986.

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