Mysore/Mysuru, Sept. 9 -- Former MP Prathap Simha has accused Booker Prize-winning author Banu Mushtaq of making disparaging remarks about Kannada identity, including symbolic references to Goddess Bhuvaneshwari and traditional customs like turmeric and vermilion.

Speaking to reporters before his detention during the Chamundi Hill protest, Simha said that the controversy erupted soon after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced her name as the Dasara inaugurator.

"Mushtaq had made statements at literary events showing a lack of cultural sensitivity expected of someone inaugurating the State's grandest festival," he said. Simha declared he would withdraw his PIL filed in the Karnataka High Court if CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shiva...