Dasara festivities: Mysore Palace, Karnataka Government truce in offing?

Mysore: While the differences between the state government and the Mysore royal family over the Mysore Dasara have worsened of late, district in-charge minister, V. Sreenivas Prasad held out hope of a truce on Monday. Speaking to reporters here, he said there could be “surprising developments” in a couple of days and all Dasara programmes would be conducted as per schedule.

“Because of the sudden death of the last scion of the royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar certain unexpected problems have cropped up. I am fully aware of the concerns expressed by Maharani Pramoda Devi and respect them. Just wait for two days and all the issues will be sorted out,” he said.

Meanwhile, another controversy arose on Monday as rumours flew that Ms Pramoda Devi had objected to the use of the word ‘Dasara’ by the state government in its programmes. As TV channels began to air the alleged statement, and historian Prof. P.V. Nanjaraj Urs took the royals to task, an outraged palace denied the maharani had said any such thing.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, palace secretary, M Lakshminarayan deplored that the maharani was becoming the target of baseless rumours. “Ms. Pramoda Devi has never tried to derail the Dasara festivities. She only requested the state government to cancel events like dance and music at the Mysore palace as the family is still in mourning,” he said, adding the maharani only wanted the government to respect the royal family’s sentiments, but it was upto it to decide. “The royal family is not indulging in blackmailing tactics,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, minister for Kannada and culture Umashree admitted there were minor differences between the government and royal family, but said they could be resolved cordially. “Yes, she placed a request to cancel cultural programmes at the Mysore palace, but we are trying to convince her. If she doesn’t change her mind, we will decide what to do next,” she added.