Dasara inauguration invitation to Banu Mushtaq is CM’s calculated move to consolidate minority support

Mysore/Mysuru: Former MP Prathap Simha launched a blistering attack on Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar yesterday, accusing him of misusing religion for political purposes.

“We don’t need lessons on religion from someone who tried to turn Shiva’s sacred Hill, Kapali Betta in Kanakapura, into Yesu Betta (Jesus’ Hill),” Simha told reporters near his house at Vijayanagar, reacting to Shivakumar’s controversial statement that Chamundi Hill does not belong to Hindus.

Simha accused Shivakumar of appeasing minorities and questioned his authority to speak on Hindu religious matters. “We don’t need religious guidance from someone who inherently exploits faith for politics,” he charged.

CM’s calculated move

Turning his ire towards CM Siddaramaiah, Simha alleged that the decision to invite writer Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate Dasara was a calculated move to consolidate minority support.

“To secure minority backing, Siddaramaiah invited Banu Mushtaq. Just like he introduced Tipu Jayanti, which no Muslim had demanded, this too is an appeasement exercise,” he claimed.

Clarifying that his objection to Mushtaq was not on religious grounds, Simha pointed to her past remarks. “In a literary address last year, she claimed the idol of Goddess Bhuvaneshwari — adorned with turmeric and vermilion — was a barrier to Muslims learning Kannada. If she rejects Bhuvaneshwari as a symbol of Kannada, how can she accept Sri Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru?” he asked.

Discomfort with Hindu customs

He questioned Mushtaq’s discomfort with Hindu customs: “Why does she have a problem with turmeric and vermilion? In Hindu homes, Kumkum is offered to married women. In Temples, it is prasadam. If this causes her irritation, it reflects deeper resentment.”

“In Tamil Nadu, Tamil is the mother tongue of Muslims. In Kerala, Malayalam is the mother tongue of Muslims. Why is Kannada not the mother tongue for Muslims in Karnataka?” he asked, adding that Islam and Christianity entered India through conquest, which he said sought to dismantle native traditions. “Just as our beliefs were attacked then, Banu Mushtaq is now undermining them.”

Toeing the party line

The former MP also reacted sharply to current MP Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar’s support for Mushtaq as Dasara inaugurator, framing it as a question of cultural identity.

Declaring that his remarks reflected the BJP’s official line, Simha said, “Whatever the BJP State President and Opposition Leaders say — that is our position. I speak for the party.”

He posed a direct question to the people of Mysuru: “Should someone who made derogatory remarks about Goddess Bhuvaneshwari be invited to inaugurate Dasara? Let the people decide.”

Simha also criticised Shivakumar for apologising after singing the RSS Anthem ‘Namaste Sada Vatsale…’ “It is a tribute to our motherland. If he had to apologise for that, it shows how little Congress respects our nation,” he rued.