Attack on buses inflames Maha-Karnataka border fight

An attack on Maharashtra-registered buses in Karnataka on Tuesday, triggered by a border dispute between the neighbouring states, has led to tempers being frayed in Maharashtra.

While Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said he had spoken to Karnataka CM and his BJP colleague Basavaraj Bommai on the issue and got an assurance that action would be taken against those attacked the buses, NCP chief Sharad Pawar warned that Maharashtra's "patience has limits". He alleged that Bommai had triggered the row by making provocative statements, with a view on the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka.

BJP leaders from Maharashtra also said buses from Karnataka could be broken in the state.


At least ten Maharashtra-registered vehicles were attacked, allegedly by Karnataka Rakshana Vedike workers. Transport department officials said Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation could stop its buses from plying in Karnataka if the attacks did not stop.

Maharashtra has been claiming that Belgaum and some other border regions dominated by Marathi-speaking people in Karnataka must be made part of it. The dispute has been pending since 1957 and the state has also filed a case in the Supreme Court on the issue. Karnataka, meanwhile, has said it would consider demands for inclusion of Maharashtra's Jath taluka and a few other places within its boundary.

The developments have made the Maharashtra government extremely defensive, as the BJP, which is part of the ruling coalition in the state, is in power in the neighbouring state.