The dispute over Mysuru Palace and the organisation of Mysuru Dasara has intensified after Karnataka district in-charge minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah rejected allegations raised by royal family member Pramoda Devi Wadiyar and said the palace board and palace land belong to the government.
Speaking to journalists on Monday, Siddaramaiah said the government had only provided the royal family with a portion of the palace premises for residence. He also said the government pays for the use of the ambari, the ceremonial howdah carried during the Dasara procession.
The minister’s remarks followed a media statement from Pramoda Devi Wadiyar expressing dissatisfaction over what she described as a lack of coordination during Dasara. Siddaramaiah said that if the royal family had faced any difficulty, it should have communicated directly with the government instead of writing to the media. He said government representatives had remained in continuous contact with the family, but that no issue had been brought to the administration’s notice.
Siddaramaiah said the government would address the problems raised by Pramoda Devi, but added that it could not accept all of her statements. He rejected the suggestion that the state’s Dasara celebrations should not be described as a government event, saying the government’s Dasara also had a history of its own.
He also ruled out the possibility of extending Dasara celebrations to seven days, as suggested by Pramoda Devi. The minister did not provide any new schedule or operational details beyond saying that the government would continue discussions if required.
The selection of the ambari elephant has also become part of the disagreement. Siddaramaiah said the administration was not legally required to inform the royal family about which elephant would carry the ambari. He said the final selection had been delayed because the names of Mahendra, Dhananjaya and Prashantha had been considered at different stages.
The minister’s account places the delay within the government’s selection process, while also indicating that the administration had faced uncertainty over the final choice. No further details about the selection criteria were provided in the statement.
Siddaramaiah also addressed the cancellation of the Jetti Kalaga event, an issue mentioned in Pramoda Devi’s letter. He said there was a difference between the account given by the royal family and the explanation provided by the police. According to the minister, the police had said the royal family arrived late and that there had been no problem from the administration’s side.
He said the government was examining the matter to determine where the error occurred. The minister added that the Chief Minister would take action in connection with the concerns raised and that officials could be sent to meet Pramoda Devi if necessary.
The exchange has brought the administrative relationship between the state government and the erstwhile royal household into public view, particularly around the management of a festival whose ceremonies remain closely associated with Mysuru’s palace traditions. The government’s next step, according to Siddaramaiah, is to review the concerns, facilitate discussions and establish what caused the disagreement over coordination and the cancelled event.
