Maharashtra Deputy State Chief Seeks PM Modi's Intervention in Border Row With Karnataka

India's states Maharashtra and Karnataka have been fighting a legal battle for years over the inter-state boundary. Maharashtra has demanded that Belgaum and other areas be included as part of its state but Karnataka has strongly opposed this attempted expansion.

The deputy state chief of Maharashtra, Ajit Pawar, on Wednesday wrote a letter to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the inter-state border dispute with neighbouring Karnataka.

In the letter, Pawar alleges that the Marathi-speaking population near the border in Karnataka are facing the BJP-led government's "atrocities" and "harassments".

The two states, which are on the western coast of the country, have been embroiled in a boundary conflict for several years. Maharashtra claims that certain parts of Karnataka such as Belgaum, Karwar, Bidar, Bhalki and Nipani, where the inhabitants mainly speak Marathi, should be part of its state.

"The people of Maharashtra and those living in the Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka, bordering Maharashtra, regret that the issue hasn't been resolved yet. Maharashtra will not rest until the dream of a Sanyukta Maharashtra (United Maharashtra) - including Marathi-speaking areas along the border - is realised," the letter stated.

The dispute between the states over Belgaum has been before India's Supreme Court for several years. "We seek your help in ensuring justice to Marathi people from border areas of Karnataka. I am sure you will do so," Pawar added.

Earlier this week, Kishori Pednekar, the Mayor of Maharashtra's capital, Mumbai city, wrote to Narendra Modi urging him to merge 865 border villages, at present part of Karnataka, with Maharashtra.