Karnataka: Only fanatics will oppose Banu Mushtaq leading Mysuru Dasara, says CM Siddaramaiah amid row over Muslim writer’s invite

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday slammed the Opposition BJP for running a campaign against Booker Prize winning Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq after the government invited her to kick off the nine-day Dasara festival in Mysuru, saying only “religious fanatics” would do something like this.

The 11-day festival will begin with a traditional pooja to Goddess Chamundeshwari at Chamundi Hills in Mysuru on September 22. The city draws the highest number of tourists from the world over during the Dasara season. Mushtaq has accepted Siddaramaiah’s invitation.

Dasara is a state festival celebrated by everyone regardless of one’s religion, he told the media in Mysuru. Poet Nisar Ahmed inaugurated the festival in the past. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan also celebrated Dasara when Mysuru was not under the Maharajas.


The CM’s comment come days after Deputy CM DK Shivakumar’s assertion that the Chamundi Temple was not the exclusive property of the Hindus and those from the other religions too were welcome, sparking an uproar.

Siddaramaiah said only religious fanatics with no clue of the history would object to invitation to Banu Mushtaq and decline to react to comments by BJP leaders as to how someone who consumes beef could offer pooja to a Hindu goddess. Would someone write in Kannada without a respect for the language, the CM asked when queried about her public comments about Kannada being appropriated by the Hindus at a literary event. The CM brushed aside the BJP’s objections saying the BJP was looking for lame excuses to object.

Prominent BJP leaders including state president BY Vijayendra, Opposition leader in the assembly R Ashoka and Lok Sabha members Yaduveer Wadiyar and Tejasvi Surya have objected to Mushtaq being invited citing her lack of respect in the Hindu traditional practices.

Wadiyar, who is also the royal scion of the Mysuru dynasty, condemned Dy CM’s comments on the Chamudi Hills, has said he stood firm in defense of the Hindu faith and heritage. “We wish to firmly reiterate that Dasara is not merely a cultural event, but a Hindu Dharmic Utsava - rooted in the Shastra & Puranas and celebrated with grandeur since the days of the Vijayanagara Samrajya and the Mysuru Samsthana. Given this sacred legacy, it is only appropriate that Smt. Mushtaq clarify her reverence towards Tayi Bhuvaneshwari and Tayi Chamundeshwari before consenting to preside as Chief Guest of this year’s Dasara celebrations,” he said in a post on X.