It was perhaps the memories of violence during the last rites of Rajkumar in 2006 that made H.D. Kumaraswamy — who was the Chief Minister then too — extra vigilant post the death of actor and politician M.H. Ambareesh.
On Saturday night, Mr. Kumaraswamy addressed the media over six times — communicating the arrangements for the public to pay last respects and about the funeral. Following protests in Mandya (from where Ambareesh hailed and built his political career) demanding that his body be brought to the district and his last rites be held there, Mr. Kumaraswamy announced that he had spoken to the Defence Minister to arrange for an Air Force helicopter to airlift the body and bring it back to the city for the last rites on Monday. Mandya is also a strong base of the JD(S) and Ambareesh, a strong Vokkaliga leader, was once with this party.
Mr. Kumaraswamy appealed to the people of Mandya not to force them to hold the last rites in the district, as Ambareesh had fans from across the State and the government was planning to build a memorial next to that of Rajkumar in recognition of his services.
He repeatedly appealed to Ambareesh’s fans, especially in Mandya, not to take any extreme step.
Mr. Kumaraswamy was at Sree Kanteerava Stadium through the day and even went to Mandya later in the day and was present at Sir. M. Visvesvaraya Stadium where the body was kept for public viewing. He is expected to lead the funeral procession on Monday and take part in the last rites as well.