Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jan 28: Karnataka deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi in a retort to Maha CM Uddhav Thackeray's union territory remark said, "We condemn the Maharashtra CM's statement. The Mahajan report is final. We are confident that things will be in our favour in the Supreme Court too. The demand of the people of our region is that we have been part of Mumbai-Karnataka (region), so we too have our right on Mumbai.

Savadi's statement comes after Thackeray reiterated his plea to declare Maharashtra-Karnataka disputed border region a union territory on Wednesday.

"Until it (Mumbai) is made part of Karnataka, I urge the central government to make it a union territory," the DCM said in response to a question on repeated raking up of the border issue. "With us now demanding Mumbai, things may get fine," the DCM added.

Earlier in the day, Thackeray had said that areas dominated by Marathi speaking people on the state's border with Karnataka should be declared as a union territory till the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on the issue. Ramesh Jarkiholi, BJP leader and minister in-charge of Belagavi district, which borders Maharashtra, stated that Thackeray was only trying to divert the public attention with the border issue to veil the 'failures' of his government.

Meanwhile, speaking on the Belagavi matter, CM Thackeray had stated that the Karnataka government's actions were in contempt of court. "They have renamed Belgaum (to 'Belagavi'), they have declared it the second capital, constructed a Vidhana Soudha there and held a legislature session," the Maha CM said.