Karnataka-Maharashtra border row: Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai to visit Belagavi on Dec 3

New Delhi, Nov 28: Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai appointed for the Karnataka-Maharashtra border issue will be visiting Belagavi on December 03. Patil and Desai has been appointed as nodal ministers to coordinate with the legal team regarding the court case on the state's border dispute with Karnataka.

According to a government resolution (GR), the two ministers will also be responsible for coordination with the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), an outfit which supports merger of areas having Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka with the state, as reported by PTI.

They will also look into the problems faced by the residents of 865 villages over which the Maharashtra government has staked its claim in this over decades-old issue, the resolution said.

Patil is a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, while Desai is a member of the Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena headed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Both hail from western Maharashtra.

A decision to appoint the two as nodal ministers was taken a meeting held on Monday.

The state Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also asked a delegation of residents of Belagavi and neighbouring areas to maintain proper communication with the Karnataka government regarding providing of necessary facilities as well as usage of Marathi in day-to-day affairs in the disputed areas.

The state government has also appointed senior advocate Vaidyanathan to represent Maharashtra in the case in the Supreme Court. While Patil is the higher and technical education minister, Desai holds the excise portfolio.

Maharashtra, since its inception in 1960, has been locked in a dispute with Karnataka over the status of Belgaum (also called Belagavi) district and 80 other Marathi-speaking villages, which are currently part of the southern state. Maharashtra has staked claim over the Marathi-speaking areas and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister Bommai will be visiting New Delhi to meet BJP national President J P Nadda, and also will have discussions with a senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi in the Supreme Court regarding the legal battle with Maharashtra over the border dispute case coming up on November 30. The Chief Minister is expected to travel to the national capital on Tuesday. The meeting with Nadda, gains significance, as he had recently indicated that the much awaited expansion or reshuffle of his Cabinet is likely after the Gujarat Assembly polls.