Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Mysuru Pratap Simha was shooed away by angry villagers of Gujjegowdanapura on Monday, January 22, after he tried to participate in a ceremony organised to mark Ram Mandir pran pratishtha event.
A video on social media shows Simha, accompanied by former minister SR Mahesh and local MLA GT Devegowda, facing the ire of villagers who accuse him of being anti-Dalit.
Pratap Simha has been representing the Mysuru-Kodagu constituency in the Lok Sabha for nearly a decade.
In the video, a man denounces Simha for being consistently ignorant towards his constituency. “You have never visited the village in 10 years and now for political reasons you are here. You never bothered to listen to us and we do not want you to come here,” the man is heard saying.
The villagers also condemn Simha for using anti-Dalit language during Dasara celebrations last year. “Pratap Simha spoke against the community and its leaders. Some of our villagers were also arrested at his behest. He never cared to visit the village or bothered to ask our problems. But now, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, he came from nowhere,” said an angry villager.
With no other options, Simha left the spot.
Earlier on December 13, 2023, Pratap Simha was embroiled in a controversy regarding the security breach at the Indian Parliament. Two men entered the Lok Sabha Well with yellow-coloured smoke canisters shouting slogans against the Central Government. Upon investigations, it was revealed the intruders’ had obtained visitors’ passes under Simha’s name. Opposition MPs demanded a thorough investigation on the matter resulting in the suspension of 141 members from both houses, marking the largest in the history of Indian Parliament.
