Mysore Palace in the eye of controversy again

By S.K.Ramoo

BANGALORE, JAN.4. The Mysore Palace of the Wodeyars has once again become the focus of a controversy. This follows the statement made by the Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. D.B.Chandre Gowda, that the Government proposed to set up a trust to maintain and manage the historic palace.

The Minister's recent public statements are intriguing as he appears to be keen on bringing to the fore, the issue of the ownership of the palace. The J.H.Patel Government circumvented a judgment of the Supreme Court, which upheld the right of ownership of Mr. Srikantadatta Narasimha Raja Wodeyar, the scion of the royal family of Mysore over the palace, by getting the Mysore Palace (Acquisition and Transfer) Act of 1998 passed by the legislature. It managed to obtain the President's assent, after considerable delay.

Mr. Wodeyar, a Congress(I) member of the Lok Sabha representing Mysore, challenged the Palace Acquisition Act in the court, which ordered the maintanence of status quo, till the final verdict was delivered.

The Kannada protagonist and leader of the Kannada Chaluvali, Mr. Vatal Nagaraj, and others had vehemently opposed the passage of the Bill.

S.M.Krishna Government's new thinking of maintaining the palace like the world renowned Buckingham Palace, runs counter to the decision of the previous Janata Dal Government. The Opposition, including the BJP, the Janata Dal (United) and the Janata Dal (Secular) suspect that the Krishna Government is keen to favour its own party MP in the issue.

But, according to Mr. Chandre Gowda, the intention was that the palace should be maintained and managed by a public trust, without any Government interference. The Government was not averse to a referendum on the issue, if the need arose. His contention was that it was a historic legacy of the Wodeyars, who were both the enlightened and the benevolent rulers of the princely State.

According to the Mysore Palace Acquisition Act, the Government would pay a compensation of Rs. 32 crores to the Wodeyars and Rs 1 crore for constructing a house for their use. The Government would also allot one acre of land.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, who was the Deputy Chief Minister in the Patel Government, has accused the Krishna Government of trying to revive monarchy, by countermanding the Palace Acquisition Act which was adopted with a overwhelming majority by the legislature. It is believed that he, along with the former Law Minister, Mr. M.C.Nanaiah, was behind the Bill that``defeated'' the Supreme Court verdict.

With the issue before the court, it was not clear why Mr. Chandre Gowda chose to articulate his views in public. Describing it as ``loud thinking'' on the part of the Government, he said that he had raised the issue with the Chief Minister. He clarified that he had not discussed the subject with Mr. Wodeyar.

Mr. Wodeyar has not taken kindly to Mr. Chandre Gowda's public posture. He has asserted that the issue should be decided only in court. He made it known that he did not favour mixing his personal affairs with politics.

He claimed that the Buckingham Palace was administered by the Heritage Trust and all revenue proceeds were credited to the Queen's account. He also maintained that the British Government was sanctioning grants for the maintenance of the Palace.

Meanwhile, the Government, which received a copy of the broad outlines of the administration of the Buckingham Palace is said to be examining how best the model could be adopted for the administration of the Mysore Palace.

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