Prasad calls on Pramoda Devi Wadiyar; terms it a courtesy visit

A week after Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, the wife of late royal scion Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar kicked up a storm by blaming successive governments for keeping the  royal family in distress over its assets, Revenue and District in-charge Minister V Sreenivas Prasad on Saturday called upon her on Saturday.

Prasad accompanied by Deputy Commissioner C Shikha, also the Dasara Special Officer, was closeted with Pramoda Devi for close to one hour at Madan Vilas, the residential wing of the royal family in the Palace.

Prasad who spoke to a section of media later, described it as a courtesy call ahead of Nada Habba Dasara, scheduled to unfold on September 25. The district administration sought the cooperation of the royal family in celebrating the festival in a grand manner.

Reacting to a query, the minister said that during the course of the meeting there had been no mention of either the issues raised by Pramoda Devi in her recent media conference, or of the issue of the successor.

The minister clarified that the district administration would officially invite Pramoda Devi for Dasara in the later days, in keeping with the tradition.

According to another source, the meeting was fixed in a hurry, as both the minister and the deputy commissioner had stopped at the Palace Board office on their way to ongoing Tribal Fest at Dasara Exhibition Grounds, opposite Jayamarthanda Gate of the Palace.

The deputy commissioner who reported to work after three months of maternity leave also wanted to learn about the issue in person from Pramoda Devi, another reason for fixing the emergency meeting with the latter, said a source.