K'taka DyCM should understand history: Raut on his Mumbai remarks

Those affiliated to the BJP entered the Redfort and created chaos, he alleged.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut onThursday criticised Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister LaxmanSavadi over his remarks that Mumbai should be made part of hisstate.

Raut said that Savadi should understand the history,and claimed that the Kannada-speaking people residing inMaharashtra want the Marathi-dominated areas in their homestate to be included in Maharashtra.

Savadi had on Wednesday said that until Mumbai wasmade part of Karnataka, the central government should declareit as a union territory.

Talking to reporters, Raut said there was no need togive importance to the remarks made by Savadi.

''People can talk, it doesn't affect us. Savadi shouldunderstand the history. The boundary dispute with Karnataka isto protect Marathi language and culture,'' the Shiv Sena MPsaid.

''Savadi should come to Mumbai and Maharashtra and askthe Kannada-speaking people, who will tell him that Belgaumand other Marathi-dominated areas in his state should bemerged with Maharashtra,'' Raut claimed.

The Maharashtra government provides grant to Kannadaschools, libraries and cultural organisations in the state, hesaid.

''Does this happen in Belgaum?'' he asked.

He said Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeraywill implement the state's development agenda only.

Maharashtra claims certain areas, including Belagavi,Karwar and Nippani which are part of Karnataka, contending themajority of population in these areas is Marathi-speaking.

On its part, as an assertion that Belagavi is an integralpart of the state, Karnataka has built the Suvarna VidhanaSoudha, modeled on the Vidhana Soudha, the state secretariatin Bengaluru, where the legislature session is held once ayear Maharashtra chief minister had on Wednesday said areasdominated by Marathi-speaking people on the state's borderwith Karnataka should be declared as a Union Territory tillthe Supreme Court gives final verdict on the issue.

Meanwhile, when asked about the violence in Delhi onthe Republic Day during the farmers' tractor rally, Raut saidthe police should investigate if those who entered the RedFort were cultivators.

''The government wants to crush the farmers' agitationand split them. Those affiliated to the BJP entered the Redfort and created chaos,'' he alleged.