Ministers should not have been stopped by police, says Yathindra

Minister in charge of Mysuru district Yathindra Siddaramaiah has said the police should not have stopped the Ministers from entering the enclosure for the Nandidhwaja puja in front of Mysuru palace on Vijayadashami day.

Responding to reporters’ questions, Dr. Yathindra said he did not know why an officer of the rank of Inspector-General of Police had acted in such a manner. “I don’t know why the police went overboard,” he remarked. According to protocol, the police should not have stopped the Ministers, he said.

When asked about the BJP’s allegation that all three Ministers stopped by the police were Dalits, Dr. Yathindra said their caste was coincidental to the incident. He added that Ministers H.C. Balakrishna and C. Puttarangashetty had also been stopped by the police.

He said he had intervened to get the Ministers past the police checkpoint by informing the personnel that the Chief Minister had instructed them to allow the Ministers through.

When asked whether anyone had instructed the police to stop the Ministers, Dr. Yathindra said he was unaware of any such directive.

“That is precisely what is being investigated. The officer will have to answer these questions before the inquiry team,” he said, referring to the inquiry ordered by the government.

An inquiry team had been constituted to probe the incident and submit its findings to the Chief Secretary, who would, in turn, forward the report to the Chief Minister, he said.

When asked about the alleged violation of protocol during the showering of flower petals on the deity, Dr. Yathindra said the names of the Chief Minister’s wife and two Chief Ministers of neighbouring States were not included in the official protocol list.

However, he defended the Chief Minister’s wife, Pushpa, offering flowers to the deity, saying there was nothing wrong with it.

“She merely offered flowers to the Goddess. The Chief Minister’s wife is not involved in any government work,” he said, defending her presence on the elevated platform to shower flower petals on the deity.

On omission of his photograph

Responding to a question about the omission of his photograph from government advertisements for Dasara, Dr. Yathindra said the photograph of the Minister in charge of the district was not included on every occasion. “I have examined this matter,” he said.

However, he pointed out that a photograph of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, scion of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family and a Member of Parliament, had been included in the advertisements this year.

As Mr. Wadiyar belonged to a different political party, party workers had questioned why the photograph of the Minister in charge of the district had been omitted, Dr. Yathindra said.