Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) youth wing president Shubham Shelke has been issued a summons by Deputy Commissioner of Police Narayan Baramani in connection with an externment complaint against him.
The complaint, filed by Malamaruti Police Inspector Kalimirchi, accuses Shelke of spreading misinformation and fuelling tensions between Kannada and Marathi-speaking communities in Belagavi.
“I have served a notice directing MES activist Shubham Shelke to appear at my office at 11 am on Friday to respond to the charges,” confirmed DCP Baramani.
Inspector Kalimirchi alleged that Shelke has been working to disrupt linguistic harmony by opposing measures like mandatory Kannada in schools and prioritising Kannada on business signboards. He further claimed that Shelke’s statements to Maharashtra leaders could provoke unrest and strain Karnataka–Maharashtra relations, urging authorities to order his indefinite externment from Belagavi district.
Shelke, who recently met the Linguistic Minorities Commission, accused the Karnataka government of violating minority language rights by enforcing Kannada as compulsory and issuing notifications only in Kannada. He argued that despite Marathi speakers constituting over 14% of the population, official communication is not provided in Marathi.
The issue has sparked sharp reactions. MES Belagavi taluk president and former MLA Manohar Kinekar criticised the move, calling it “yet another injustice” against the Marathi community, and insisted, “Marathas cannot be silenced with threats.”
Meanwhile, Karnataka Rakshna Vedike district president Deepak Gudaganatti countered, “Shelke should be externed not only from Belagavi but from Karnataka, as his actions endanger linguistic and religious harmony.”
