Bommai snubs Pratap Simha, MP skips Bagina event

MYSURU: Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha seems to be facing the wrath of his own party members and senior leaders, with the latest being Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. During the Dasara high-level committee meeting in Bengaluru on Tuesday, the two-time BJP MP was caught in an embarrassing situation when a visibly angry Bommai ticked him off. Simha came up to Bommai with a letter pertaining to development work in his constituency, and the latter assured him that he would get it approved. However, Simha insisted on taking a photo of the document he had handed over. This irked Bommai, who immediately returned the document and asked him to leave if he did not trust him.

The embarrassment was all the more acute as they were in the midst of reporters, MLAs and elected representatives from Mysuru district. Simha tried to smile it off and pacify Bommai, saying he had only asked for a photograph with him. “It is tough to work with those who are ‘very intelligent’,” was the chief minister’s sharp response, which further exposed the void between him and Simha.

A day after this incident, Simha, who was scheduled to take accompany the Chief Minister on his visit to Mysuru to offer ‘Bagina’ at Kabini dam, skipped the event. Sources said the MP, who was hurt with the CM’s reaction, skipped the programme to express his displeasure and went to Chamarajanagar. This is the second such incident involving Simha. A month ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had snubbed him during his visit to Mysuru, but embraced MLA S A Ramadas on stage amid the ‘credit war’ between Pratap Simha and Ramadas.