BENGALURU: BJP leaders and elected representatives have opposed the state government’s invitation to writer, activist and International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate this year’s Mysuru Dasara. Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna said the Siddaramaiah government has chosen a woman from a community that does not believe in Hinduism. By choosing her, the government is playing with the emotions of Hindus, he alleged.
Vijayapura MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal said he personally respects Banu, but her inaugurating Dasara by lighting the lamp and offering flowers to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari idol is against the belief of Islam. “We urge Banu to clarify whether she has Islamic beliefs. If she does not offer a clarification, it is better for her to inaugurate one of the sub-events of Dasara, like the poets’ meet, instead of the main Dasara celebrations,” he said.
Mysuru-Kodagu former BJP MP Prathap Simha too expressed his displeasure, saying Dasara is not a secular festival. “She could have been chosen to preside over the Kannada Sahitya Sammelana and not Dasara,” he opined.
Unfazed, Banu Mushtaq delivered a razor-sharp response, “I will not make any comment against them or against anyone to belittle my country.” There is a precedent though. In 2017, writer Nisar Ahmed was invited to inaugurate the Dasara but there was no backlash then.