Maharashtra ministers' visit could cause riots: Karnataka intel warning amid border dispute

If Maharashtra ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai visit Belagavi in Karnataka, it could lead to violence and riots - this is what Karnataka intelligence department has told the police, according to a Hindustan Times report.

The warning came amid fresh tension over the border dispute between neighbouring states Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The ministers are slated to meet pro-Maharashtra groups in Belagavi on 6 December 2022. News of the visit led to protests by pro-Kannada outfits.

Maharashtra claims that Belagavi should be a part of its territory as the district has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. Maharashtra wants Karnataka to part with 80 Marathi-speaking villages.

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Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis - both BJP leaders - recently engaged in a war of words over the border dispute, with both sides claiming that they would not part with any territory, and instead take some land of the other state.