Mysuru: ‘Kalash’ comes up at ‘dome’ bus stop, but MP Pratap Simha wants it razed

MYSURU: A day after Pratap Simha, Mysuru-Kodagu BJP MP, set a four-day deadline for officials to remove ‘gumbaz’-like structures atop a newly constructed bus shelter in Mysuru, pictures of the domes with a ‘kalasha’ (sacred pot) on them were widely shared on social media on Tuesday.
The unfinished bus shelter on Mysuru-Nanjangud Road, opposite JSS College, also had photographs of Shivarathri Rajendra Swami, the former seer of Suttur Mutt, and Adijagadguru Shivarathreeshwara Shivayogi Swami. The ‘kalasha’ and pictures of the seers comes a day after Hindu activists warned of an agitation.
Simha had threatened to demolish the structure, which he likened to a mosque, if officials did not take the domes down. The bus stop is located in Mysuru’s Krishnaraja assembly constituency, which is represented in the assembly by SA Ramdas of BJP. In a press release, Ramdas said ‘Kalashas’ were not instaled “overnight”.
“It was instaled last week,” he said. He said he has requested the state government to get an expert committee to review the design. “If the committee suggests changes, I have no objections to change,” he said. But Simha, on Tuesday, refused to budge and insisted that he will demolish the bus shelter in two days if the domes are not removed.
“I gave clear directions to officials to remove the domes immediately,” he said. “Even with the ‘kalasha’, my position remains unchanged. There is a lot of difference between Indo-Saracenic architecture and Islamic architecture.” Meanwhile, former chief minister Siddaramaiah lashed out at Simha.
“Who is Simha to say he will demolish a government building? The government spent taxpayers’ money on this. It is not Simha’s money,” he said. CM Ibrahim, state president of JD(S), urged Simha to “stop talking nonsense”. “British rulers and the Mysuru royal family have praised Tipu after he became a martyr. It is recorded in history,” Ibrahim said. “Will Simha demolish the ‘gumbaz’ like structures on Mysuru Palace? BJP leaders create controversies just to win elections.”