Kharge slams BJP’s demand for action against inspector

State home minister Priyank Kharge on Monday hit back at the state BJP’s ongoing campaign to seek action against T Narasipura police inspector Dhananjaya, who warned organisers of a local Ganpati procession against proceeding towards a mosque on Link Road at a peace meeting on September 7.

Priyank Kharge (AFP)Kharge said the government would wait for a report from the superintendent of police before taking a call on the matter. “(LoP R) Ashoka was the home minister, wasn’t he? Didn’t he conduct such meetings?

Didn’t Basavaraj Bommai do the same? Have I changed anything after coming here? The rules Ashoka had put in place are the same rules that exist today,” he said. The dispute followed a peace meeting on September 7, where Dhananjaya warned organisers against taking a Ganesh procession towards a mosque on Link Road and bursting crackers there.

HT has seen a widely-circulated clip of the briefing. “A festival should be celebrated like a festival. When people of other religions see you celebrating, they should be happy for you and respect it as your festival, just as you would respect their festivals, right?” he told the organisers.

“Instead of that, do not go and stand in front of a mosque and burst firecrackers. If we find this happening this time, I will take strict action. Understood?” the inspector added. The briefing largely focused on ensuring that organisers adhered to the plans submitted to police.

He said the procession route had to be specified beforehand and followed. Regulations on sound systems and food preparation alsofeatured prominently. An orchestra could be held, he said, but not with a DJ-type sound system.

For immersion, DJ vehicles and DJ songs were prohibited. Dhananjaya suggested using traditional instruments including tamate, dolu, nagari and Dollu Kunitha. For immersion, DJ vehicles and DJ songs were prohibited. Food preparation also came up, with Dhananjaya asking organisers to appoint someone to supervise cooking and keep volunteers at the pandal around the clock.

The BJP staged a protest against the remarks in T Narasipur on Sunday. The protest was led by Leader of Opposition in the assembly R Ashoka, who was joined by MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, MLA TS Srivatsa, former MP Pratap Simha and other party leaders.

Ashoka carried a Ganesh idol and led supporters along Link Road. BJP leaders were detained and later released. A clip from the inspector’s briefing was widely circulated on social media. Mysuru superintendent of police Mallikarjuna Baladandi said there was no restriction on either the procession route or the festival.

“Organisers could use the traditional routes followed in previous years,” he said. “Last time during the grand procession, they had not given us information. They went for the procession without informing us. So this time we have just told them to give information and take out the procession.

As every year, there is permission for procession on Link Road,” Baladandi said. The town has about 15 to 20 Ganesh pandals each year. Baladandi said police had asked organisers to provide the dates of immersion and the routes in advance to aid security arrangements.

He said the move followed an incident last year involving a group that allegedly took out an unauthorised procession along a route that passed by a mosque. Officers were unaware of the event and could not make security arrangements, he added.

Ashoka alleged that the government was restricting procession routes, loudspeakers and celebrations near mosques. “This is not just a Mysuru issue; this is happening across Karnataka,” he said, adding that the Ganesh festival should not become a “police festival”.