Pramoda Devi Wadiyar has said the payment made by the Karnataka government for using the Ambari during Mysuru Dasara is an honorarium for promotional use of private property, not rent, while asserting that the Ambari and the throne remain in the Wadiyar family’s custody.
Speaking at a press conference held at Mysuru Palace on Wednesday, Wadiyar said the government uses the Ambari to promote the festival and pays the family because its property is used for that purpose. She said the payment should not be described as rent.
According to her, the government uses the Ambari in Dasara promotional material and sells tickets for the Jamboo Savari procession from the front of Mysuru Palace. She described the payment connected to that use as rajadhana or an honorarium.
Wadiyar also addressed the family’s continued residence in Mysuru Palace. She said the family remains in the palace because of an order that is currently in force in court, and that this should not be treated as an act of government generosity or a special concession granted to the erstwhile royal family.
She said the Mysore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act, 1998, applies only to Mysuru Palace and does not affect other properties included in the list of private assets of the Maharaja of Mysuru. The statement places the dispute within a wider question of how the palace law applies to assets associated with the former royal household.
Wadiyar further said the throne and the Ambari had remained in the family’s possession and continue to do so. She added that the family could approach the court if religious rituals conducted within the palace complex were obstructed. However, she said the family had maintained restraint despite difficulties because it wanted to resolve internal disputes without escalating them.
She said the family would not obstruct government programmes and requested cooperation so that its own programmes were also not disrupted. Wadiyar clarified that she had not previously blamed the government, but had brought attention to confusion caused by the police and offered suggestions.
She described the government’s Dasara programme as a cultural festival and said the chariot festival at Chamundi Hill was also connected to Dasara. Because many people find it difficult to obtain darshan during the event, she said she had suggested holding the procession on the chariot festival day. According to her, this could allow the religious observances scheduled for Vijayadashami and Ayudha Puja to proceed more smoothly.
Wadiyar welcomed Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar’s reported assurance that any difficulties would be examined and resolved through discussions. She said she was prepared to meet the chief minister and ministers and did not intend to pursue the issue out of hostility. She also said she did not want the dispute to continue until the next Dasara.
