Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister D K Shivakumar has ordered an inquiry into police stopping three Dalit ministers at Mysuru Palace during the Nandi Dhwaja puja, calling the incident "extremely serious".
The ministers were stopped during the ritual that precedes the Mysuru Dasara procession. Superintendent of Police C B Rishyanth, deployed for security at the celebrations, stopped Kannada and culture minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, P M Narendraswamy and K S Basavanthappa. Shivakumar intervened and allowed them in.
Tangadagi challenged the officer as he was stopped. "I am the Culture Minister," he said, according to a video of the exchange that was widely shared.
The chief minister directed chief secretary Shalini Rajneesh to investigate the incident, identify the officers responsible and submit a report. Action would follow against those found guilty, he said. He described the incident as "extremely serious" and the officials' conduct as "condemnable".
The Opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) alleged the ministers were singled out because they are Dalits. Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy demanded to know whether officers had been instructed to prevent their entry. BJP leader R Ashoka also raised questions, and the JD(S) attacked the Congress in a social media post.
Deputy chief minister G Parameshwara, however, cautioned against assigning a caste motive before the circumstances were established. He said police may have been enforcing security rules at an event attended by large crowds.
Shivakumar was in Delhi on Thursday, meeting Union ministers on the Kasturirangan report and the IT land issue.