Maratha Mahasangh members paint protest messages on Karnataka bus over border dispute

Members of the Maratha Mahasangh painted messages on a bus of the  Karnataka State Road Transport to protest against Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj Bommai's statements on the border dispute.

Words Jai Maharashtra and Jahir nishedh (condemnation) were painted in orange and black on a Nipani-Aurangabad bus at Daund in Pune district, said one of its members. They also shouted slogans against the Karnataka chief minister.

Bommai had claimed that some village panchayats in Jat taluka of Maharashtra’s Sangli district had passed a resolution in the past seeking to merge with Karnataka when they were facing a severe water crisis.

The statement drew sharp criticism with Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis saying that it was a demand made in 2012 and had no relevance now. Not a single village of Maharashtra will go anywhere, he said.