Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara on Thursday, 22 October dismissed attempts to attach a caste dimension to the incident in which three Cabinet ministers were stopped from entering the Mysuru Palace premises during the Nandi Dhwaja puja on Jamboo Savari day of the Mysuru Dasara festival, calling such framing 'low-level thinking.' Parameshwara asserted that police personnel operate on instructions from senior officers and urged all sides to refrain from exploiting the episode for political gain.

What Parameshwara Said

Addressing reporters in Bengaluru, the Deputy Chief Minister said he had watched the video footage of the incident and that the police officer involved had stopped the ministers without manhandling them. He maintained that the officer was likely acting on a protocol instruction permitting only the Chief Minister inside the venue at that point.

'If the officer has instructions not to allow anyone other than the Chief Minister, he will not let others in. That is protocol. What is wrong with the police following instructions from their senior officers?' Parameshwara said.

He also objected to the repeated use of the phrase 'Dalit ministers' in public discourse around the episode. 'Isn't it enough to call them ministers? Why use the term Dalit ministers? Would you refer to other ministers by their communities? It is wrong,' he said. Parameshwara acknowledged that Indian society has distinct social layers but cautioned that such categorisations should not be 'weaponised' to manufacture controversy.

The Incident at Mysuru Palace

The controversy erupted on Wednesday, 21 October, when police personnel at the Mysuru Palace premises allegedly prevented Ministers Shivaraj Tangadgi, P.M. Narendra Swamy, and K.S. Basavanthappa from entering the venue for the traditional Nandi Dhwaja puja during the Jamboo Savari procession. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar subsequently intervened, turned back, and personally escorted the ministers into the venue.

The episode triggered a political debate over who had authorised the police to restrict entry, with Dalit organisations and progressive groups criticising the treatment of the three ministers, all of whom belong to marginalised communities. This comes amid a broader political climate in Karnataka where caste identity has repeatedly intersected with questions of protocol and institutional access.

Chief Minister Shivakumar Orders Enquiry

Chief Minister Shivakumar on Thursday directed Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh to examine the video footage and conduct a formal enquiry into the incident. In a press statement, Shivakumar said the police officers had 'behaved arrogantly' by preventing the ministers from entering the venue.

'Everything cannot be done through Mysuru District In-Charge Minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah alone. Against this backdrop, I had assigned responsibilities to all the ministers. They are all our leaders, and I ensured that they were allowed inside. I had to go back and bring them in. What else can I do?' the Chief Minister said.

Shivakumar also noted that the Mysuru Dasara celebrations had otherwise been conducted successfully and that responsibilities had been distributed among all ministers given the scale of the event.

Political Fallout and What Comes Next

The incident has widened the political fault lines within the Karnataka government's management of state ceremonial events, raising questions about the chain of command at high-profile public functions. Notably, the three ministers at the centre of the episode are from Scheduled Caste and Other Backward Class communities, lending the controversy a social-justice dimension that opposition parties and civil society groups are unlikely to let rest quietly.

Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh is expected to submit her enquiry report after reviewing the available footage. The findings could determine whether the restriction was a failure of coordination, a protocol misapplication, or something more deliberate — a question that both the ruling side and its critics are watching closely.