Bengaluru: Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday criticised former BJP MP Pratap Simha for moving the High Court against the invitation extended to Kannada writer Banu Mushtaq to inaugurate this year’s Mysuru Dasara.

“Pratap Simha has been sidelined by his own party. To stay politically relevant, he is doing such things,” Shivakumar said, adding that the court will decide on the matter.

Simha had alleged that the Congress government took a “unilateral decision” without consulting the Mysuru royal family and warned it could disturb communal harmony.

Shivakumar accused the BJP of playing petty politics instead of addressing issues like irrigation projects and Bengaluru’s development. On the Dharmasthala controversy, he claimed the BJP was using it to hide internal fights.

Dasara celebrations will begin in Mysuru on September 22 and end with Vijayadashami on October 2.