Veteran politician and BJP MLC A.H. Vishwanath has suggested that the State government invite former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to inaugurate this year’s Dasara celebrations.
Recalling that the celebrations had been inaugurated by seers, film stars, and litterateurs earlier, Mr. Vishwanath said the State government should invite Mr. Gowda.
The JD(S) patriarch has not been active in politics for the last several years, but also served as Chief Minister and is presently a Rajya Sabha member. He is a person from Karnataka who has served as Prime Minister without any “black spot”, Mr Vishwanath said.
“The people of the State will be happy if the honour of inaugurating the Dasara festivities is bestowed upon Mr. Gowda in the evening of his public life,” Mr. Vishwanath said.
It may be mentioned here that the State government invited former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna to inaugurate the festival in 2021.
The inauguration of the festivities is held atop Chamundi Hills every year, marking the start of the programmes. Even as the State government had begun preparations for the celebrations, scheduled to start on September 26 and culminate on October 5 with the Jamboo Savari, the person to inaugurate the festivities has not been announced.
Minister for Co-operation S.T. Somashekar, who is also the Minister in charge of Mysuru, told reporters recently said the decision to finalise the name of the person to inaugurate the festivities had been entrusted to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai.
