Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his temper during the inauguration of the Mysuru Dasara festival on Monday. From the stage, he pointed towards a section of the audience and scolded those who were allegedly creating a disturbance during the event.
"Can’t you remain seated for a short while? Sit down. Who is making this noise? When I tell you once, why don’t you listen? If you don’t want to behave, you should have stayed back at home instead of coming here," Siddaramaiah was heard saying in Kannada. Turning to the police, he added, “Don’t allow them to leave. Is it so difficult to sit through half an hour or an hour of this programme? If not, why did you even attend?”
Mysuru Dasara controversy
The 11-day Mysuru Dasara, also called the ‘Nada Habba’ or state festival, began today in the city of palaces. This year’s celebrations stirred controversy over the government’s choice of International Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the event.
Strong objections were raised by BJP leaders and several groups after an old video of Mushtaq resurfaced. In it, she reportedly questioned the practice of treating the Kannada language as “Goddess Bhuvaneshwari,” suggesting it excluded people from minority communities like her.
Critics argued that inviting Mushtaq was an insult to tradition, since the festival has always opened with Vedic rituals and floral offerings to Goddess Chamundeshwari. Some accused her of previously making “anti-Hindu” and “anti-Kannada” remarks, while others said her involvement undermined religious sentiments. A number of BJP leaders demanded that she clearly state her respect for Goddess Chamundeshwari before taking part in the inauguration.
Mushtaq defended herself by saying her comments were being misrepresented. “Parts of an old speech have been clipped and circulated to twist my meaning. My words have been taken out of context and projected wrongly,” she said.
Siddaramaiah, standing by the government’s decision, rejected the criticism. He emphasised that the festival is for everyone in the state. “Dasara doesn’t belong to a single religion or caste. It is a celebration shared by all,” he said.
