Karnataka Government Orders Inquiry After Police Stop Ministers at Mysuru Event

Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has ordered an official inquiry into police officers blocking several Ministers from entering the Nandidhwaja Pooja venue inside the Mysuru palace. The incident took place on October 21 during large festival celebrations. The Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh will conduct the probe and submit a report on the matter.

Ministers Blocked

The restricted officials included Ministers H.C. Balakrishna, P.M. Narendraswamy, K.S. Basavantappa, and Shivaraj Tangadagi. The Chief Minister personally intervened at the time to let them inside the enclosure. He called the police actions irresponsible and stated that high-handed behavior by officers will not be tolerated.

Political Reactions

The opposition BJP criticized the event, alleging that caste prejudice played a role since several of the affected Ministers belong to the Dalit community. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara dismissed the caste angle. He stated that police were only following strict security protocols and crowd management rules, and called the incident a minor lapse rather than a major controversy.

Context

High-profile public events in India often require strict security cordons and protocol enforcement by local police forces. This sometimes leads to friction between law enforcement personnel and political leaders when access rules are applied rigidly near VIP enclosures. State inquiries of this nature help determine whether the restrictions resulted from genuine crowd control errors or poor communication on the ground.