Uddhav Thackeray meets president on row over Belgaum

December 20th, 2011 - 7:12 pm ICT by IANS  

Uddhav Thackeray Mumbai, Dec 20 (IANS) Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray Tuesday met President Pratibha Patil and demanded that the Marathi-speaking areas of Belgaum and surroundings in Karnataka be declared a union territory, till the boundary issue is resolved.

Leading a delegation of the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) to the president, Thackeray called for an end to the boundary dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka simmering for six decades now.

“The Marathi-speaking people of Belgaum and surrounding areas have already made it clear that they want to be a part of Maharashtra, they identify with the culture of this state and feel emotionally attached to it,” Thackeray told media persons after meeting the president.

President Patil is currently on a three-day visit to the state in connection with the Presidential Flee Review.

Incidentally, the meeting with the president came four days after the Maharashtra assembly unanimously passed a resolution, urging the centre to declare the disputed Marathi-speaking areas on the states’ border as a union territory till the state government’s petition before the Supreme Court is decided.

Thackeray has also announced his party’s plans to launch a state-wide stir in support of the 2.50 million Marathi-speaking population in Belgaum and surrounding areas of Karnataka.

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