PM should clarify his stand on Maharashtra-Karnataka border row: Uddhav Thackeray

Former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray who heads a faction of the Shiv Sena on Saturday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should clarify his stand on the simmering MaharashtraKarnataka border disputeHe also defended the collegium system of appointment of judges and hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party BJPled central government for pressuring the judiciary and trying to bring it under its thumbThackeray was speaking at the inauguration of the 42nd Marathwada Sahitya Sammelan at Sant Ramdas College in Jalna districtPM Narendra Modi is coming to inaugurate NagpurMumbai Expressway on Sunday and we welcome him During his visit he should clarify his stand on the MaharashtraKarnataka border dispute The PM will have to address a host of issues plaguing the state when he comes for the inauguration of the expressway Thackeray saidHe should speak about the Karnataka chief minister who is staking claim on some villages in Maharashtra the Shiv Sena UBT president saidThe border row between Maharashtra and Karnataka has heated up with incidents of violence being reported from border areas of both statesThe dispute dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of states on linguistic lines Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency as it has a sizeable Marathispeaking population It also staked claim to 814 Marathispeaking villages which are currently part of KarnatakaAlso Read Villages from Maharashtra may be merged into Karnataka Uddhav ThackerayThackeray criticised Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar for their statements against the collegium systemRijiju had last month said the collegium system was alien to the Constitution while Dhankhar in his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha criticised the judiciary for scrapping the National Judicial Appointments Commission NJAC law terming it as an instance of severe compromise of parliamentary sovereigntySlamming the statements made against the collegium system Thackeray asked that if judges cant appoint judges then can the prime minister choose themHe further claimed that even after eight years the Supreme Court is still hearing a bunch of petitions challenging the controversial decision of the Union government to demonetise currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000When will people who suffered due to demonetisation get justice he askedThackeray said writers can play an important role in changing society and asking questions to the rulersWriters should ask questions to the rulers Merely holding seminars and discussions is not enough they should come on to the streets and ask questions to the rulers for their wrongdoings he saidFreedom is at stake Those who speak against rulers are being sent to jail Thackeray addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever