Karnataka minister refuses to attend Tipu Sultan event

bengaluru — Union Minister Anantkumar Hegde has asked the Karnataka government to keep him out of the state’s Tipu Jayanti celebrations, calling the erstwhile Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan a “brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist”.

“Conveyed (to) Karnataka government not to invite me to shameful event of glorifying a person known as brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist,” Hegde tweeted. Hegde had also written an official letter to the state asking not to include his name for the event.

The Karnataka government, headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has planned to celebrate the erstwhile ruler’s birth anniversary on November 10. The ruling Congress began celebrating Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary since 2015, which led to violent protests by the right-wing organisations in the Mysore region and other parts of the state.

Conveyed (to) Karnataka government not to invite me to shameful event of glorifying a person known as brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist

Anantkumar Hegde, Union Minister

The Tiger of Mysore

Reacting to Hegde’s statement, Siddaramaiah said the event was being given a “political” colour. “It is being made into a political issue. Four wars were fought against the > Tipu Sultan ruled the Mysore kingdom from 1782-1799 succeeding his father Hyder Ali > Tipu Sultan, who was known as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’, was born in 1750 at Devanahalli British and Tipu fought all of them,” he said. The invitation to the union minister was extended only as part of the “protocol”, the CM added. “It was only as part of the protocol that

It is being made into a political issue. Four wars were fought against the British and Tipu fought all of them...The invitation was extended only as part of the protocol

Siddaramaiah, Karnataka CM

he (Hegde) was invited. The invitation is extended to all central and state leaders as part of the protocol. It is up to them whether to attend or not,” Siddaramaiah said. —