Maharashtra MP Dhairyasheel S. Mane met Speaker Om Birla in New Delhi on Saturday and demanded action against Deputy Commissioner Belagavi Mohammad Roshan. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Maharashtra MP Dhairyasheel S. Mane has filed a privilege complaint against Belagavi Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan for issuing an entry ban against him in Belagavi district.
Mr Mane met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in New Delhi on Saturday and sent a letter saying his privilege as a member of the Lok Sabha had been violated and sought legal action against Mr Roshan.
Mr. Mane is Member of Parliament from Hatkanagala, Maharashtra and Member of the Committee on Inter-State Border Affairs appointed by the Government of Maharashtra.
Mr. Roshan prevented Mr. Mane from entering Belagavi on November 1 this year and prevented him from participating in the Black Day event organized by the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES).
MES, a Belagavi-based political party campaigning for the merger of Marathi-speaking areas of Karnataka with Maharashtra, organizes Black Day events in Belagavi on Rajyotsava Day (November 1) every year. This time, MES invited Mr. Mane to speak at the Black Day event.
The prohibitory order against Mr. Mane was to avert any law and order problem after his speech as the district administration had indications that Mr. Mane was likely to make a provocative speech. Similar action was taken against politicians from Maharashtra during the Black Day events in the past by successive deputy commissioners.
Mr. Mane said he had gone to Belagavi to express solidarity with the MES members who had started a movement to include Belagavi and 865 other Marathi-speaking villages in Maharashtra.
“The MES members are deeply upset that it was on November 1, 1956 that these Marathi speaking areas were merged with Karnataka and not Maharashtra. They have been protesting against this since the linguistic reorganization of the states and I am behind the agitation and against the injustice being suffered by the Marathi speaking people,” he said.
“On November 1 this year, MES members planned to hold a peaceful protest by hoisting black flags. They invited me as an MP and a member of the Border Disputes Committee,” he said.
“However, when I was traveling from Maharashtra to Karnataka, Mr. Roshan, who is also the District Magistrate of Belagavi, issued a notice against me. The police prevented me from entering the district. This notice was illegal, unjust and unwarranted. I have the right to travel anywhere in India. I am a representative of the people and have no criminal record, I have been violated. The notices against my travel are unwarranted. I have been violated. to the officer,” Mr. Mane said.
Complaint condemned
However, Kannada organizations strongly condemned the complaint against the deputy commissioner.
“Mr Mana’s complaint against Mr Roshan is unreasonable and illogical,” said Central Committee of Kannada Organizations President Ashok Chandaragi. The committee sent a letter to Mr. Birla’s office.
“By sending this letter to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, Mr. Mane not only hid the truth but also proved the truth of the old Kannada proverb that the guilty try to shout as loudly as possible that they are not. Citizens from any part of the country, including MPs from Maharashtra, are free to travel across the country. Ministers and MPs from Maharashtra have also not visited any such order against Belagarastra.
“But there was a clear reason why the Belagavi district administration restricted Mr. Mane. The timing of his visit and his history of provocative speech warranted the ban. Mr. Mane and his supporters should understand that,” he said.
“There are many examples of Maharashtra leaders who came to Belagavi on that particular day and made a provocative speech, endangering law and order. Similarly, Mr. Mane could have come here and incited the Maratha population. He concealed this fact from the Speaker,” he said.
By complaining about the pre-emptive action of the Belagavi Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Mane not only tried to behave unprofessionally but also treated the office of Speaker (Lok Sabha) with less importance than it deserves, the paper said.
“Kannada organizations in the border areas not only fully support the activities of Deputy Commissioner Belagavi, but also stand firmly behind the officer,” said Mr. Chandaragi, who is also a member of the Karnataka State Border Development Authority.
A copy of the letter was given to Belagavi MP Jagadish Shettar.
Published – 21 Dec 2025 19:19 IST
