Bengaluru, Sept. 16 -- On the day that the Karnataka High Court junked pleas filed by three individuals, including former Mysuru-Kodagu MP Prathap Simha, seeking to restrain International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq from inaugurating Dasara, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday lashed out at Prathap Simha, calling him a 'fool' for opposing Banu Mushtaq's selection.

Speaking after inaugurating the International Day of Democracy organised at Vidhana Soudha yesterday, Siddaramaiah said that India functions under a secular system and there is no meaning or substance in opposing the Naada Habba Dasara inauguration by International Booker Prize winner Banu Mushtaq.

"If a person who was a Lok Sabha MP earlier does not know what the Const...