Members from Opposition parties in Maharashtra were stopped from entering Karnataka on Monday amid a raging border row between the two states, a development that came on a day when the winter session of the legislatures on both sides commenced.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Congress, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) members were barred from entering Karnataka when they were scheduled to take part in a gathering organised by the pro-Marathi group Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), by the police of the adjoining state, an Opposition leader from Maharashtra's Kolhapur district said.
These leaders, including NCP MLA from Kagal Hasan Mushrif, were on way to participate in a 'maha melava' (mega gathering) organized by the MES in the adjoining state.
Leaders alleged they were lathi-charged by the Karnataka police at the border, while the Maharashtra police detained them and later released them. However, the Kolhapur district police refuted the claim of detention.
"Generally, on the first day of the session of the Karnataka legislature, a maha melava is organized by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, and leaders from Maharashtra visit the conclave to show their support," said Vijay Devane, Shiv Sena (UBT) district president of Kolhapur.
The 10-day session of the Karnataka legislature commenced in Belagavi, a key town in the border row, amid tight security.
He said on Sunday, the administration and the police in Karnataka issued a 'fatwa' stating that people from Maharashtra will not be permitted to enter the neighbouring state.
"But, we still set out for the maha melava with full strength. However, we were stopped at the Kognali check-post (on Karnataka-Maharashtra border) on the Doodhganga river," Devane said.
The Sena (UBT) functionary claimed authorities had put up barricades to stop more than 500 people, including workers and leaders of the Opposition parties, from entering Karnataka.
"While stopping us, the Karnataka police resorted to lathi-charge. After that the Maharashtra police detained us at 11.30 am and at 12 noon, we were released," he added.
Speaking to PTI, Shailesh Balkawade, Superintendent of Police, Kolhapur district, said they neither stopped nor detained anyone.
"It was our stand that the Kolhapur police will not stop anyone and will not detain anyone. In fact, they were asking us to detain us and leave us in buses. If you see the videos, it is the leaders who tried to board police vehicles. However, our police personnel asked them to get down," he said.
The winter session of the Maharashtra legislature began in Nagpur on Monday and the decades-old border row figured prominently during the proceedings.