MYSORE: Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, widow of Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, has expressed displeasure at the government’s failure to resolve the Palace property issue and has attributed it to the delay in naming a successor to the royal family’s scion.
“This is the most testing time of my life as I am dealing with personal loss and thinking about the family’s future,” she said in a reply to media reports speculating that the delay in naming a successor may cast a shadow on this year’s Dasara celebrations.
She said the issue of selection of a successor to Wadiyar will in no way affect the Dasara festivities.
Taking a swipe at the government in a letter, she said: “There is tremendous apprehension and uncertainty over the Mysore Palace property after the enactment of the most unfair legislation namely ‘Mysore Palace Acquisition Act’ of 1998, initiated by the Government of Karnataka. The Supreme Court had passed an order directing the state government to hand over possession of the portion of the Mysore Palace taken over by the State government for maintenance and management. Instead of complying with the order, the Government of Karnataka proposed to take over the Mysore Palace property through a special legislation.... Words fail to express the irreversible anguish and agony suffered by us while we are embroiled in a prolonged legal wrangle.”