Mysuru Palace Puja Row: Chief Secretary Asked to Probe Police Action
A controversy over ministers being denied entry to a puja at the Mysore Palace premises has led Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to ask Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh for a probe. The incident took place on Wednesday during the Nandi Dhwaja puja, a key ritual linked to the Mysuru Dasara celebrations.
Shivakumar said police officers had acted arrogantly by stopping ministers Balakrishna, P M Narendra Swamy and K S Basavanthappa from entering the puja venue. He said he had personally intervened to get the ministers inside, but that such arbitrary behaviour by officials was unacceptable.
He has directed the Chief Secretary to examine the matter, identify those responsible and submit a report. Action will be taken against any officer found guilty after the report is received, the Chief Minister said.
The trouble began during the Jamboo Savari procession on October 21, when Superintendent of Police C B Rishyanth, deployed for security during the Mysuru Dasara festival, reportedly stopped three Dalit ministers from participating in the Nandi Dhwaja puja. As tensions rose, Shivakumar stepped in and directed police to allow the ministers into the puja area.
The incident has drawn sharp public attention and raised a central question: who directed the SP to restrict access to the puja venue? Many citizens have also asked why ministers were barred from the ritual without any instruction from the Chief Minister.
Dalit organisations and progressive thinkers have condemned the episode. Videos of the confrontation between ministers and the police officer have spread rapidly across social media.
Under protocol, ministers and MLAs accompanying the Chief Minister are generally permitted to join the puja. On Wednesday, initially only Yathindra Siddaramaiah, in-charge minister of Mysuru district, was allowed to enter with Shivakumar. Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, Agriculture Minister P M Narendra Swamy and Mujrai Minister K S Basavanthappa were stopped by the SP.
When the ministers tried to move towards the event area, Rishyanth allegedly blocked their path. Tangadagi pushed the officer aside and moved ahead, expressing anger at being prevented from taking part in the ritual.
The SP then stood in the way of Narendra Swamy and Basavanthappa and stopped them from entering. Shivakumar intervened as the situation escalated and told the SP to let the ministers participate in the puja.
According to reports, Narendra Swamy reprimanded the officer and asked him to keep his distance and not touch him. The ministers were then allowed to join the puja.
Reports also said the SP had earlier prevented senior Congress MLA Tanveer Sait from reaching the puja site. Shivakumar later took Sait to the venue so that he could participate. Other local MLAs and MLCs were not permitted to enter and watched the puja from a distance.