The Mysuru Dasara protocol controversy widened on Friday after district in-charge minister Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah said the official list for the Vijayadashami procession did not include Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s wife Usha or the chief ministers of Kerala and Telangana. He also defended Usha’s participation in a flower-offering ceremony and said an inquiry was under way into the detention of ministers during the Nandidhwaja puja.
Speaking to reporters in Mysuru, Yathindra said there was no error in Usha offering flowers to Chamundeshwari because she had not performed any government function. He said her participation was limited to the religious ceremony and argued that, even if protocol had been breached, it should not be treated as an offence in that context.
The minister’s comments came amid questions over the arrangements for the Dasara Vijayadashami procession, one of the city’s largest public ceremonies. According to him, the protocol list prepared for the event did not contain the names of Usha or the chief ministers of Kerala and Telangana. He did not provide details of who prepared the list or explain how the final access and ceremonial arrangements were determined.
Yathindra also addressed an incident during the Nandidhwaja puja, saying ministers should not have been stopped under the applicable protocol. He questioned why an officer of Inspector General of Police rank had intervened and said he did not know whether the police had acted on instructions from anyone.
The minister said the Chief Minister had ordered an inquiry into the incident. The inquiry team is expected to obtain an explanation from the officer involved, according to Yathindra. He said the ministers who were stopped included Dalit minister Balakrishna and C. Puttarangashetty. Yathindra added that he had personally informed the Chief Minister and enabled the ministers to enter.
The comments place the incident within a wider administrative question surrounding access control at large public ceremonies. Dasara events require coordination between the district administration, police, elected representatives and ceremonial participants. The reported inquiry is expected to establish why the ministers were stopped and whether the action was consistent with the protocol governing the puja.
Yathindra also responded to questions about his photograph being absent from a government advertisement related to the Dasara festival. He said he had checked previous advertisements and found that the district in-charge minister’s photograph had not been included in them either. He noted, however, that this year’s advertisement carried a photograph of a member of the erstwhile royal family who is associated with another political party. According to Yathindra, party workers and supporters had questioned why the district in-charge minister’s photograph was not used.
The immediate administrative step is the inquiry ordered by the Chief Minister. Its findings are expected to clarify the officer’s explanation and the circumstances in which the ministers were prevented from entering the Nandidhwaja puja venue.
