Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis says CM Eknath Shinde will take final call on ministers visit to disputed areas in Karnataka

Maharashtra state deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis siad Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde will take the final call on whether the ministers appointed for coordinating the state's border dispute with Karnataka should visit the contested areas.

The two ministers, who had earlier announced of visiting the disputed areas, were invited by locals on the occasion of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's death anniversary. Our opinion is to avoid any legal complications by arranging such a visit to the disputed areas. However, the final call on the ministers' visit will be taken by the chief minister, Fadnavis said.

According to a report of PTI,  Belagavi, Karvar and many villages on the Maharashtra and Karnataka border are in dispute over which state should get their administrative control. The dispute is pending before the Supreme Court since Maharashtra's inception in 1960.

Nobody should be prohibited from visiting a place, as we are an independent country. However, the case related to the disputed area is still going on in the Supreme Court and we want to avoid any further complications in the issue. Nobody can stop the ministers from visiting the disputed areas if they decide to do so, the deputy chief minister said.

Ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, who have been appointed as coordinating ministers, are scheduled to meet activists of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) at Belagavi in Karnataka on December 6 and hold talks with them on the border issue.