Belagavi (Karnataka), Dec. 13: To oppose Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES)’s Maha Melava (Parallel People’s Session), Kannada activists threw black ink on the face of MES party’s senior leader Deepak Dalvi on Monday near Vaccine Depot ground at Tilakwadi in the city.
Subsequently, the Belagavi police has also arrested Kannada activists involved in this act.
The incident took place when Mr Dalvi along with several other MES leaders had arrived to the Vaccine Depot ground at Tilakwadi, to monitor the preparation work to hold Maha Melav (Parallel People’s Session) of the Marathi linguistic community was slated to be held.
However the Belagavi police had asked the MES leaders to leave the venue in view of the Legislature session, which they refused to budge leading to arguments between the police and the MES leaders.
Even as the police and MES leaders were arguing, a few Kannada activists claiming to be the members of the Karnataka Nav Nirman Pade (New Karnataka Reform Army), barged into the venue and threw black ink on Mr Dalvi.
The MES had been organising the Maha Melava on the first day of Karnataka winter legislature session in protest of the state’s decision to hold its yearly Winter Session in Belagavi since 2006 onwards.
Since then for at least 10 days every year, Bengaluru nearly ceases to be the capital of Karnataka as the entire state machinery moves to Belagavi for the winter session. However, the chain of conducting legislature sessions and Maha Melav by the MES in Belagavi broke in 2019 and 2020 due to the outbreak of global pandemic – Covid 19.
The MES was formed in 1948 as representative of Marathi speaking people living in and around Belagavi district, Their main demand is to merge Belagavi and its adjoining areas into Maharashtra.
The party’s main agenda is to oppose any move by Karnataka to assert its control over the region. The MES had always been observing November 1 (state’s formation day) as black day in protest of Karnataka observing Kannada Rajayotsava (state formation festival) since 1956.
