Hassan district administration invited former prime minister HD Deve Gowda to the Hasanamba Festival after JD(S) leaders criticised the authorities for initially leaving him out of the annual religious event. The invitation came amid protests in Hassan over access to darshan, festival-related contracts and the administration’s arrangements for local devotees.
Deputy commissioner KS Latha Kumari, superintendent of police Shubhanwita, Zilla Panchayat chief executive officer Shubha Shukla and additional deputy commissioner Krishnamurthy visited Deve Gowda at his Bengaluru residence to extend the invitation, according to the report. Excise and district minister KM Shivalingegowda and Hassan MP Shreyas Patel were absent from the visit.
The two leaders had led efforts to invite Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer Nirmalanandanatha Swami and several state ministers. Their absence from the meeting with Deve Gowda triggered further resentment among JD(S) legislators and leaders, who accused the administration of allowing political considerations to enter the management of the festival.
The dispute unfolded alongside a protest by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, Hasanamba-Siddeshwara Swamy Pilgrimage Service Committee, Traders’ Association, Priests’ Association and other organisations. The groups demanded separate darshan facilities for Hassan residents and arrangements allowing continuous darshan during the festival.
Hundreds of protesters marched from the Hemavathi statue through Subhash Circle, Kasturba Road and Gandhi Bazaar Road before blocking traffic at NR Circle and forming a human chain. They raised slogans against the district administration and the district minister. Local traders voluntarily shut their shops in support of the protest, affecting commercial activity in central Hassan.
The protesters also demanded an inquiry into alleged corruption in contracts connected with the festival. They accused the district administration and the assistant commissioner of financial irregularities, but the report did not provide details of the alleged irregularities or any response from the officials named in the accusations.
The groups submitted a memorandum at the deputy commissioner’s office. Former MLA Preetham J Gowda and BJP district president Siddesh Nagendra joined the protest. JD(S) MLA HP Swaroop Prakash and Aam Aadmi Party state vice-president Agile Yogesh also sought separate darshan facilities for local devotees.
The dispute places the district administration under pressure on two immediate fronts: maintaining public access to a major religious gathering and keeping traffic and commercial activity functioning during festival-related crowds. It also brings the management of procurement and visitor facilities under scrutiny, following the protesters’ demand for an inquiry into contracts. The administration’s invitation to Deve Gowda was the latest recorded response to the political criticism, while the submitted memorandum sets out the protesters’ demands for further action.
