Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Wednesday demanded that Karnataka stop holding legislature sessions in Belagavi till the Supreme Court gives its verdict on the boundary dispute with Maharashtra.

At the meeting of chief ministers of Karnataka and Maharashtra with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, it was agreed that both the states shall maintain status quo on the long-pending dispute, he said.

“We (Maharashtra) have not claimed Belagavi. It belongs to Maharashtra. In fact, it is Karnataka which is claiming Solapur and Sangli areas of Maharashtra,” the Rajya Sabha member said.

Maharashtra has been long claiming Belagavi and surrounding border areas in north Karnataka as they have a sizable Marathi-speaking population.

As the dispute is before the apex court, Karnataka government should not have declared Belagavi as its second capital and hold legislature sessions there, Raut said, adding, ”Isn’t that contempt of court?” “Karnataka should stop holding its legislature sessions in Belagavi,” Raut demanded.