Mysore/Mysuru: Krishnaraja BJP MLA T.S. Srivatsa asserted on Monday that the State Government’s decision to select International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq for inaugurating this year’s Dasara cannot be accepted.

Reacting to the Karnataka High Court dismissing former MP Prathap Simha’s plea seeking to restrain Banu Mushtaq from inaugurating the festival, Srivatsa said the BJP had accepted poet Nisar Ahmed as the Dasara inaugurator in 2017, as he had a firm belief in God and respected Kannadambe, Bhuvaneshwari and the religion.

However, Banu Mushtaq, he alleged, appears to have no such regard for either the religion or God. As such, Prathap Simha had approached the High Court seeking a stay on Banu Mushtaq’s role in the inauguration, Srivatsa said, adding that the party would discuss the issue in depth with the top leadership before deciding on the next course of action.