Kalaburagi: The Kalyana Karnataka Horata Samiti on Tuesday strongly opposed the campaign to include Vijayapura district under Article 371(J), warning that any attempt to extend the provision beyond the region’s existing boundaries would trigger a widespread agitation.Addressing reporters, honorary president Basavaraj Deshmukh and founder-president Lakshman Dasti said the erstwhile Hyderabad Karnataka region had remained one of the state’s most backward areas for decades. After a prolonged struggle, the Union govt granted the region special status through Article 371(J) in 2013, they said.The leaders maintained that the constitutional provision was specifically intended for the seven districts of Kalyana Karnataka and contained no mechanism to add another district or even a single village. Any national-level effort to alter that framework would be opposed, they said.They alleged that attempts had been made in the past to include Vijayapura and Gadag districts, as well as Molakalmuru taluk in Chitradurga district, under Article 371(J) through indirect means. The ongoing campaign seeking inclusion of Vijayapura, including Sindagi and Indi, was therefore disappointing, they said.At the same time, the Samiti said every region had the constitutional right to seek special status through a separate amendment to Article 371. It would support any such independent demand raised by Vijayapura or other regions, the leaders added.The Samiti also criticised BJP state president BY Vijayendra for backing the campaign during a recent visit to the protest site in Sindagi. His support reflected a lack of understanding of the issue and had hurt the sentiments of people in Kalyana Karnataka, they alleged.Several activists, including Prof RK Hudagi, Dr Basavaraj Kumanur, Manish Jaju and Rauf Qadri, attended the press conference.
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