The Hindu : Award aspirant `attempts suicide'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 07, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Award aspirant `attempts suicide'

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore Nov. 6. The discontent over the selections for this year's Rajyotsava awards took a bizarre turn this afternoon with a 70-year-old Kannada stage artiste attempting suicide at the Vidhana Soudha, protesting against his exclusion from the list of award winners.

The artiste, K. Guru Rao from Chitradurga, tried to jump from the ornamental parapet in front of the Chief Minister's office on the third floor of the Secretariat. The policemen on duty at the spot found him sitting on the parapet and prevented him from jumping. It is stated that he was raising slogans criticising the Minister of State for Kannada and Culture, Rani Satish, for the "injustice" done to him.

The Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Chiranjiv Singh, called the artiste to his chambers and consoled him. Later, the police took him away for questioning.

Mr. Guru Rao managed to tell the journalists covering the Secretariat that undeserving and little-known stage artistes had been honoured with Rajyotsava awards this time. His name, which had been recommended for the award by some of the ministers and artistes, had been ignored for no valid reason in the past four years.

Mr. Rao said that he had acted in Kannada plays from the early 1950s along with giants such as M.V. Subbaiah Naidu. His memorable role was as Krishnadevaraya. He was part of the Prabhat Kalavidharu of Bangalore for 25 years. Mr. Rao added that he was also a member of the Congress but had never aspired for any position. For long he was living in Mysore and had moved to Chitradurga only recently.

Mr. Guru Rao blamed Ms. Satish for honouring the wrong persons and ignoring the deserving.

`No suicide bid'

However, Mr. Rao said he had "no intention of committing suicide at the Vidhana Soudha. I only wished to see Rani Satish, and demand justice."

On July 10, Mr. Rao had submitted a petition to the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, in which he threatened to commit suicide. Among the three demands he made in the petition was that he should be chosen for the Rajyotsava Award.

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