Mysuru: Responding to erstwhile Mysuru royal family member Pramoda Devi Wadiyar’s remarks on the ownership of Mysuru Palace, district minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah Saturday asserted that the palace was built with taxpayers’ money and was ultimately a public asset, though it was constructed by the Maharajas.
On traditional wrestlers alleging that police had denied them entry into the palace for the Vajramushti Kalaga on Vijayadashami, Yathindra said complaints had been received against some officials and action would be taken.
Ultimately, everything is a public asset,” he said, responding to Pramoda Devi’s recent press conference in which she addressed his earlier remarks on the palace, the golden howdah and the royal family’s role in Dasara celebrations. Clarifying his position on the Ambari, Yathindra said he had never claimed that the golden howdah or the royal throne belonged to the govt. Whether the payment was termed royalty or rent, as clarified by the royal family, the govt had paid for its use, he said. Acknowledging the royal family’s cooperation in organising Dasara over the years, he said there had been only a few instances of confusion. “The govt expects the family to continue extending its support as in the past, as Dasara is the people’s festival or Nada Habba,” he said, adding that the celebrations were organised for the people.
“Whether it was the Maharajas or the govt, it was the people’s tax money that went into building the palace. He had only pointed out that the govt paid the erstwhile royal family for using the golden howdah during the Jamboo Savari. Chief minister DK Shivakumar had already expressed his intention to speak to the family to resolve the differences.
Yathindra also stood by his earlier statement that the Palace Board and the palace, barring the portion allotted to the erstwhile royal family for residence, belonged to the state govt.