Setback for MES, apex court dismisses atrocity plea

The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by former member of Belgaum Zilla Panchayat Arjun Goral alleging that atrocities were perpetrated on Marathi people during the removal of the ‘Maharashtra State' board which was placed at the entrance of Marathi-dominant Yellur village, near Belgaum.

While dismissing the petition, the apex court declined to intervene in the dispute. Several pro-Marathi organisations from Maharashtra and Karnataka which had intervened in the Yellur incident had called the police action taken during the removal of the board as an atrocity on Marathi people. Including top leaders of Shiv Sena, several Marathi organisations had raised the issue of Yellur before the Centre calling the removal of the board illegal.

The decision of the apex court has come as a huge setback to Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) which is responsible for creating a hostile atmosphere on the border, particularly in areas dominated by the Marathi community. For the last several decades, the MES has displayed such boards illegally challenging the state government.

Responding to a petition filed by RTI activist Bheemappa Gadad last month, the High Court had ordered the government to immediately remove the ‘Maharashtra State' board illegally placed at the Yellur entrance. The Belgaum district administration got the board removed after taking people of Yellur and leaders of MES into confidence.