Home ministry should intervene in Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute: Supriya Sule

New Delhi: The issue of border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka was on Wednesday raised in Lok Sabha with NCP leader Supriya Sule seeking the intervention of the Union home ministry in the matter.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Sule said people of Maharashtra are getting "beaten up" every day despite the BJP being the ruling party in both the states.

She found support from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction's) Vinayak Raut.

"In the last 10 days, a conspiracy is being hatched to break Maharashtra. (Home Minister) Amit Shah should intervene in the matter," she said.

BJP MPs from Karnataka objected to Sule's remark, saying the matter is sub-judice.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said it is a sensitive issue between two states.

After raising slogans against the Karnataka government in Marathi, Maha Vikas Aghadi members comprising NCP, Sena's Thackeray faction and Congress members staged a walkout from the House in protest.

The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines.

Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to 814 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of the southern state.

Karnataka, however, considers the demarcation done on linguistic lines according to the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.