Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah under fire over book launch of right-wing editor

Several groups urged Siddaramaiah to withdraw from the program, given the “Islamophobic, casteist, and misogynistic behaviour” of the author. According to the invite, Siddaramaiah and other guests will release three volumes of Sampadakara Sathyashodane authored by Bhat, apart from a few other books. The book launch event is scheduled for Saturday (July 22).

Among those critical of Siddaramaiah’s decision was Kavita Lankesh, filmmaker and sister of slain journalist Gauri Lankesh. In a post, she shared the screenshot of a tweet by Bhat, which, according to Kavita Lankesh, reflected his misogynistic attitude. The post by Bhat poked fun at West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee when she had called for a ‘mancha’ (forum) against the BJP. “If we use the exact translation of Mancha in Kannada, this call will give a wrong meaning,” he had tweeted. Mancha means bed in Kannada.

On Sunday, activist Vinay Sreenivas also urged the CM to reconsider his decision.

Dear @siddaramaiah sir , it is disappointing that you are going as a chief guest for a book release by the hatemonger @VishweshwarBhat . Pls see a sample of his posts in the past.

You are endorsing his Islamophobic, casteist and misogynistic behaviour.
Pls withdraw ASAP sir. pic.twitter.com/gtlE2vw0km

— ವಿನಯ್ ಕೂರಗಾಯಲ ಶ್ರೀನಿವಾಸ Vinay K S (@vinaysreeni) July 16, 2023

“Dear Siddaramaiah sir, it is disappointing that you are going as a chief guest for a book release by the hatemonger Vishweshwar Bhat. Pls see a sample of his posts in the past,” he tweeted, sharing screenshots of Bhat’s past articles and social media posts.

One of the posts included a column on journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was assassinated by right-wing groups in September 2017. The headline of the article, written shortly after her killing, read that instead of dying due to a ‘gundu’ (bullet) if she had died of ‘gundu’ (alcohol), her death would be single-column news.

“You are endorsing his Islamophobic, casteist and misogynistic behaviour,” Sreenivas said urging Siddaramaiah to withdraw from the event.

Prominent actor Prakash Raj requested the CM to think again about attending the program. “This does not augur you well,” he said in a post.

Bhat is no stranger to controversy. In October last year, he had received flak from various groups for a travelogue piece in which he was accused of ridiculing the dark complexion of President Droupadi Murmu.