Bengaluru: BJP’s former ally Shiv Sena raised the attacks on its party leaders in Karnataka’s Belgaum in the Lok Sabha on Monday, contending that Marathi people residing in the region were being victimised.
Sena MP Arvind Sawant raised the issue during Zero Hour, leading to uproar in the house as Karnataka MPs raised objection to his allegations.
Sawant had on Saturday alleged that Marathi people residing in Karnataka’s Belgaum were being victimised. He also cited various instances of attacks on Shiv Sena leaders and the party’s office in Belgaum by pro-Kannada outfits in the past few days.
In the Lok Sabha on Monday, he sought the Centre’s intervention into the issue, stressing that the language dispute shouldn’t be stretched too far and it is the responsibility of the Karnataka government to maintain peace.
The Shiv Sena has blamed Kannada Rakshan Vedike, which has been opposing the Marathi-speaking people’s long-standing demand for inclusion in Maharashtra, for the attack.
