CM DK Shivakumar and his wifewith Dasara elephant Abhimanyu during Dasara procession in Mysuru on Wednesday
The chief ministers of Kerala and Telangana were also not listed, he said. She offered floral tributes to the Goddess, which is ok,” Yathindra told reporters amid allegations that the chief minister broke protocol by allowing his wife to offer puja. Usha, however, joined her husband, chief minister DK Shivakumar , in offering floral tributes. “She has not interfered with the govt work.
Mysuru: District minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah on Friday said Usha Shivakumar’s name was not on the list of dignitaries scheduled to offer floral tributes to Goddess Chamundeshwari during the Dasara procession.
“I don’t know if he was instructed to do so,” he said. Police also stopped his colleagues HC Balakrishna and C Puttaranagashetty, but Yathindra said he intervened. He said his supporters had questioned the use of the photo of the royal family who belonged to a different political party.
Yathindra blamed senior police officials, particularly IPS officer CB Ryshyanth, for the controversy over Dalit ministers being stopped from joining the chief minister during Nandhi Dhwaja puja.
The former CM, who took the blessings of Dandina Maramma, said he prayed for the welfare of people, for peace, progress and their prosperity. Govt staff, following complaints from opposition leaders, reviewed past Dasara processions and found that former chief ministers SM Krishna and HD Kumaraswamy had similarly allowed their wives, Prema Krishna and Anitha Kumaraswamy, to accompany them while offering floral tributes. They were taken in a procession in an open jeep by the villagers.
Former chief minister Siddaramaiah and district minister Yathindra Siddaramaiah were given a rousing welcome with a garland of apples by villagers, fans and supporters at Ranganathapura during the inauguration of the newly constructed Dandina Maramma temple in Varuna assembly segment in Mysuru on Friday.