Bus service between Maharashtra and Karnataka stopped, Sena asks Centre to intervene in dispute

The state transport bus service between Maharashtra and Karnataka was stopped on Saturday after stones were pelted at state buses in Belgaum district. The Shiv Sena has urged the Centre to intervene in the dispute between the two states.

The bus service was stopped by the two states after a skirmish between activists of Kannad outfits and the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti in Belgaum on Friday. The Kannad activists allegedly damaged a vehicle belonging to a Shiv Sena leader after they saw that his car’s registration plate was in Marathi. They allegedly also smeared black paint on some names of shops written Marathi. Some activists also pelted stones at buses coming to Belgaum from Maharashtra, after which the bus service was stopped.

Members of MES and Shiv Sainiks later held protests in Belgaum city.

Shiv Sena chief spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut said, “A delegation from Maharashtra should visit Belgaum for on-the-spot fact-checking. I am ready to lead the delegation if the state government allows it… Atrocities and injustice against Marathi-speaking people has been growing and in the last eight days, there have been frequent attacks on them,” he said.