The Maharashtra government has decided to request the court for an urgent hearing in the matter and appointed a strong legal team, said Maharashtra Minister Chandrakant Patil.

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The Mahayuti government has let down Marathi-speaking people residing in disputed areas on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) said on Wednesday (February 25, 2026).“There won’t be a political resolution to the issue. We expect the Supreme Court to give us justice. What the Governor has said about Maharashtra government’s commitment to resolving the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue is mere lip service. The Maharashtra government has wilfully ignored the interests of the Marathi-speaking population in the border areas,” MES leader Vijay Devane told The Hindu.Mr. Devane alleged that the Maharashtra government is a mute spectator to the Karnataka government’s “repressive tactics” against Marathi speakers in the border areas, citing instances like Marathi boards being torn down and cases being registered for not speaking in Kannada in government offices. “Our requests and applications do not get processed if we do not speak in Kannada. During the Assembly session in Belagavi, we are denied permission to hold rallies,” he said.He said Maharashtra Ministers Chandrakant Patil and Shambhuraj Desai, appointed by the government to coordinate with the legal team on the border dispute case being heard in the apex court, have not addressed their concerns. He urged the Maharashtra government to take a strong stance on the issue.“Lawyers should hold meetings with the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, which has been fighting this battle for three generations now,” he said.‘Will address concerns’The Maharashtra government said a meeting will be held before the end of the ongoing Budget Session of the Assembly to address the concerns of Marathi-speaking people in the border areas. “For the last four months, we did not hold any meeting because the model code of conduct was in force for the local body elections,” Mr. Patil told The Hindu.The border dispute between the neighbouring States dates back to 1956, when States were reorganised on linguistic lines. Maharashtra has staked claim to 865 villages in Karnataka, asserting that they comprise majority Marathi-speaking population. Over the last few decades, the emotive issue has led to several confrontations and law and order issues in both States.Enumerating the measures taken in the last one year, Maharashtra government said an expert committee meeting was held on September 10, 2025. However, details of the discussions in the meeting were not shared.“The Maharashtra government has decided to request the court for an urgent hearing in the matter and appointed a strong legal team,” Mr. Patil said. It will also send a proposal to the high-powered committee to provide concessions to colleges run by Marathi-speaking organisations in disputed villages and scholarships for students, he said.‘No meetings held’Meanwhile, the high-powered committee appointed by the Maharashtra government to address the border dispute, comprising senior leaders across party lines, hasn’t met in several months. “Only one meeting was held initially, but it did not address any of the core concerns,” Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who is a member of the committee, said.Mr. Patil said the high-powered committee needs to be reconstituted following the demise of a member, but did not give any timeline for the appointment of a new member or reconstitution of the committee.Hearing awaitedAdvocate Shivaji Jadhav, representing the Maharashtra government in the Supreme Court, told The Hindu from Delhi that an application filed by the Karnataka government challenging Maharashtra’s legal authority is yet to be heard by the court. It was listed for January 21, but was not heard due to non-availability of judges. It is likely to be mentioned first in the next hearing, he said.The Karnataka government contends that under Article 3 of the Constitution, only Parliament has the authority to redraw State boundaries, Mr. Jadhav said. “Depending on the outcome of this application, the suit will be heard,” he said. Published - February 26, 2026 01:12 am IST