CM Must Felicitate Banu, Deepa During Dasara

BJP MLC A H Vishwanath lashes out at party colleagues Leader of Opposition Ashoka, ex-MP Simha

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Mysuru

BJP MLC A H Vishwanath has urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to felicitate writer Banu Mushtaq and translator Deepa Bhasthi, winners of the International Booker Prize 2025, at the Mysuru Palace premises to put an end to the ongoing controversy over Mushtaq inaugurating the Dasara festivities.

Addressing reporters here on Saturday, Vishwanath said opposition to Mushtaq's selection was an attempt to tarnish the image of Mysuru. "The International Booker Prize is next only to the Nobel Prize. By winning it, Mushtaq has taken Kannada language and literature to the global stage. The government has rightly honoured both the writer and translator at Vidhana Soudha. Translating literature is not an easy task, and Deepa Bhasthi deserves equal recognition," he said.