'Sit Down': Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Snaps at Crowd During Mysuru Dasara Inauguration

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost his temper during the inauguration of the Mysuru Dasara festival, rebuking members of the audience for alleged unruly behaviour. From the stage, Siddaramaiah was

seen pointing at someone in the crowd and saying: "Can't you sit for a little while? Sit down. Who is that? If I tell you once, don't you understand? Why did you even come here? You should have stayed at home." He was also heard directing police officers not to allow the audience members to leave. "Police, don't let them go. Can't you sit for half an hour or an hour? Then, why are you attending this function?" the Chief Minister added. The 11-day Mysuru Dasara, known as Karnataka's "festival of festivals", began on Monday. The Karnataka government's decision to invite International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate the festival triggered objections from BJP leaders and others. An old video in which Mushtaq was heard questioning the worship of the Kannada language as Goddess Bhuvaneshwari, calling it exclusionary to minorities like her, had been doing the rounds since she was invited. Her critics alleged that she had made statements that were "anti-Hindu" and "anti-Kannada", while others argued that her selection disrespected the religious traditions of Dasara, which is traditionally inaugurated with Vedic rituals and floral offerings to Goddess Chamundeshwari. Several BJP leaders had demanded that Mushtaq clarify her reverence for the Goddess before inaugurating the event. She has since responded, saying her old remarks were selectively edited and misrepresented on social media. Defending the invitation, Siddaramaiah said Dasara was a festival that belonged to all communities. "Dasara is not a festival of any one religion or caste, it is a festival of all," he said. "Banu Mushtaq may be a Muslim woman by birth, but she is a human being first. Humans should love and respect each other and there should be no hate based on one's caste and religion," he added. The Chief Minister also invoked the Constitution, saying: "Everyone should understand that our Constitution is secular. We are a society where there is unity in diversity, irrespective of our religion and castes, we are all Indians. Those who are opposed to the Constitution try to distort it, such people are selfish."