Trouble over book on governor

Irate Congress workers stall the release of a book as part of their protest against a controversial reference to SM Krishna. B.R. Srikanth reports.

Irate Congress workers stalled the release of a book as part of their protest against a controversial reference to the relationship between the Governor of Maharastra, S.M. Krishna, and yesteryears actress, B. Saroja Devi, in Mysore on Monday.

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Led by D. Made Gowda, a member of the legislative council, party workers ripped apart banners announcing the book launch outside the venue and set them ablaze. Later, they staged protests in Mandya, the home district of S.M. Krishna. The book, “Halli, Hakki Haadu,” (The song of a village bird), a biography of S.M. Krishna’s former cabinet colleague H. Vishwanath, has sparked angry reactions from within the state unit of Congress. It was scheduled for release by Jnanpith laureate Dr U.R. Anantha Murthy in the presence of former Union minister Srinivasa Prasad. However, the author did not show up for the event in view of the protests. After a two-hour wait, Dr Anantha Murthy and Prasad left without unveiling the book.

Later, Dr Anantha Murthy told newsmen “I think, the author should have taken the consent of the person he refers to in the book. It has not happened in this case. Otherwise, the book reads well. I think the electronic media has misrepresented contents of the book.”