Border row: Ahead of SC hearing, Bommai to visit Delhi on Nov 29

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday said he would go to Delhi on November 29 to hold a meeting with senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi over the border row between Karnataka and Maharashtra ahead of the case coming up in the Supreme Court on November 30.

He was speaking to reporters after a maiden meeting with the newly appointed Karnataka Border and River Formation Commission chairperson and former judge of the Supreme Court Justice Shivaraj Patil.

“I will visit Delhi on November 29 and will discuss with senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi in detail about everything related to the case right from whatever happened since 2004 when the case was filed by Maharashtra in the Supreme Court and the developments that had taken place in the past and the key highlights of the dispute,” the Chief Minister explained.

He said that during the meeting with Justice Patil, senior advocate Uday Holla, Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi, Home Minister Araga Jnanendra and Irrigation Minister Govind Karjol, Chief Secretary Vandita Sharma and senior advocates from Belagavi were also present.

In the meeting, the important points were discussed such as strategy and the provisions of law and the Constitution, the Chief Minister said adding, Justice Patil gave some directions to the lawyers regarding the case.

“Justice Shivaraj Patil is confident that the Constitution, the provisions of the State Reorganisation Act and facts are with us,” Bommai said adding, “We have made preparations for a legal battle to protect our borders and our land.”

Regarding an all-party meeting, he said he would speak to the Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly Siddaramaiah and seek a date convenient for him and hold a meeting in the next four or five days.

The border row is decades old with Maharashtra insisting for the merger of Belagavi (formerly Belgaum) with it on the ground that the district has substantial Marathi-speaking population. Karnataka has rejected the claim. Karnataka has hired Rohatgi to deal with the case.