BJP MP prevented from entering village that supplied stone for Ram Lalla idol

BJP MP Pratap Simha faced an angry crowd in a village in his constituency Mysuru on Monday, as villagers barred him from participating in the pooja, claiming he was “anti-Dalit.” The MP was there for a foundation laying event of a temple in Harohalli’s Gujjegowdanapura village, which had provided the stone block used to carve the idol of Ram Lalla for the temple in Ayodhya.

In videos of the incident, the MP can be seen surrounded by a mob which claimed that Simha had never visited the village before, despite it being a part of the Mysuru-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency he represents. The MP, villagers alleged, was there for political reasons.

The incident took place hours prior to the temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. Former minister SR Mahesh and JDS MLA GT Dewe Gowda, who were present at the ceremony, tried to pacify the crowd, but eventually, the MP had to retreat as the situation escalated.


Simha has held the Lok Sabha seat from the constituency for two consecutive terms from 2014. With parliament elections mere months away, the incident has piled on to the MP’s earlier gaffe, where he was accused of having provided security passes to the intruders who attacked Parliament last month.