Karnataka Chief Minister orders probe into Cabinet colleagues being stopped by police at puja enclosure during Mysuru Dasara

Karnataka’s Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to conduct an inquiry and submit a report on police officers restricting some Ministers from entering the venue during the Nandidhwaja Pooja held in Mysuru palace on October 21.

“It is evident that the officials acted high-handedly by restricting the Ministers. I personally intervened immediately to facilitate the Ministers’ entry. However, such irresponsibility from officials cannot be tolerated. Therefore, I have ordered the Chief Secretary to conduct an inquiry into who is responsible for this, and submit a report,” the Chief Minister stated. H.C. Balakrishna, P.M. Narendraswamy, and K.S. Basavantappa were the Ministers who were stopped.

The incident had drawn criticism, with the opposition BJP alleging caste prejudice. P.M. Narendraswamy, and K.S. Basavantappa belong to the Dalit community. Yet another Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, also a Dalit, was stopped, but was allowed to go in after the Chief Minister intervened.

‘Don’t give caste dimension’

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara has said it is inappropriate to give a caste dimension to incidents arising during the enforcement of security and protocol.

He said the Chief Minister has a prescribed protocol that the police are required to enforce strictly, particularly during events involving huge crowds where security arrangements have to be closely followed.

“Although the Ministers were initially stopped while the Chief Minister moved ahead, the Chief Minister later returned and took them along. The police were performing their duty. There is no need to create an unnecessary controversy over the matter,” he said.

Objecting to the repeated use of the expression ‘Dalit Ministers’ in relation to the incident, Dr. Parameshwara asked why they could not simply be referred to as Ministers. “Should every individual be identified by their caste? Are Ministers belonging to other communities referred to by their caste?”

He further said, “I am not saying there were no lapses. Such mistakes can happen. But it is not appropriate to turn such minor lapses into a major controversy.”