Giving Caste Angle To Mysuru Dasara Incident Is Low-Level Thinking Cops Act On Orders Of Senior Officers: Dy CM Parameshwara
Reacting to the controversy over the incident at the Mysuru Palace premises during Wednesday's Jamboo Savari procession, Parameshwara while addressing reporters said he had watched the video and that the police officer had stopped the ministers without manhandling them. He said the officer knew that they were ministers but might have been acting on instructions to allow only the Chief Minister inside the venue.
“If the officer has instructions not to allow anyone other than the Chief Minister, he will not let others in. That is protocol. What is wrong with the police following instructions from their senior officers?” he asked.
Parameshwara objected to repeatedly referring to the ministers as“Dalit ministers”, asking why they could not simply be called ministers.
“Isn't it enough to call them ministers? Why use the term 'Dalit ministers'? Would you refer to other ministers by their communities? It is wrong,” he said.
He acknowledged that Indian society had different social layers and categories but said these should not be used as weapons to create controversy.
“Unfortunately, there is categorisation in our society, and there are different layers. This should not become a weapon. It is not correct,” he said, adding that giving a caste angle to minor incidents during Dasara was inappropriate.
He said the Chief Minister had subsequently turned back and taken the ministers along with him after they were stopped by the police. The incident should not be blown out of proportion, he added.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said he had ensured that the ministers were allowed to participate in the Nandi Dhwaja puja and that the Chief Secretary would enquire into the incident by examining the video footage.
“Everything cannot be done through Mysuru District In-Charge Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah alone. Against this backdrop, I had assigned responsibilities to all the ministers. They are all our leaders, and I ensured that they were allowed inside. I had to go back and bring them in. What else can I do?” he said.
Shivakumar said Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh would examine the video footage and conduct an enquiry into the incident.
The Chief Minister also said the Mysuru Dasara celebrations had been conducted successfully and that he had entrusted responsibilities to all ministers in view of the scale of the event.
The controversy erupted after police personnel allegedly prevented Ministers Shivaraj Tangadgi, P.M. Narendra Swamy and K.S. Basavanthappa from entering the venue for the traditional Nandi Dhwaja puja on Wednesday. CM Shivakumar intervened following the incident and directed the police to allow the ministers to participate in the ritual.
The incident triggered a political debate, with questions raised over who had instructed the police to restrict entry and criticism from Dalit organisations and progressive groups over the treatment of the ministers.
Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday has directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to conduct an enquiry and submit a report on the incident in which police officers allegedly prevented ministers from entering the venue to participate in the Nandi Dhwaja puja at the Mysuru Palace premises on Wednesday.
In a press statement, CM Shivakumar said the police officers had behaved arrogantly by preventing ministers from entering the venue for the ritual.
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