Overview

• Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s government named the Kannada author as chief guest to open the festival on September 22, with Vijayadashami on October 2.
• Banu Mushtaq has accepted the invitation and described the role as an honour for Kannada literature.
• Senior BJP figures including C T Ravi, Pratap Simha, Tejasvi Surya and expelled MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal questioned her presiding over rituals and urged a public declaration of faith in Goddess Chamundeshwari.
• A 2023 video of Mushtaq criticising the deification of Kannada as ‘Bhuvaneshwari’ resurfaced online and was used by opponents to challenge her suitability for the ritual role.
• The government cites precedent such as poet K.S. Nissar Ahmad inaugurating Dasara in 2017, while Udupi police registered two cases over allegedly communal social-media posts linked to the invite.