Belagavi, 8 Jan

A police complaint has been lodged against Belagavi South BJP MLA Abhay Patil following a controversial incident during the unveiling ceremony of a statue of Sambhaji Maharaj on Sunday.


The complaint, filed by the Kitturu Karnataka Sene, a pro-Kannada organisation, alleges that Patil invited Maharashtra Public Works Department Minister Shivendraraje Bhosale, who ended his speech with the slogan "Jai Maharashtra."

The organisation claims that Belagavi, being a border-sensitive area with tensions over the Kannada-Marathi language dispute, is highly sensitive to such slogans. They accuse Patil, along with Belagavi Mayor Savita Kamble and Deputy Mayor Anand Chavan, of clapping in response to Bhosale’s speech, which they argue caused distress among Kannadigas.

The complaint states that the unveiling of the statue, funded by the Belagavi mayor, was done without proper permission, and that the statue should be removed or replaced with one honouring freedom fighters from State, rather than figures associated with Maharashtra.

As the case has been filed, the police are consulting legal experts, as the matter concerns elected representatives and may be handled by the Elected Representatives’ Court.

Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammed Roshan confirmed that the statue was unveiled without following official protocol and stated that it would need to be reopened in compliance with the proper procedures. -Salar News