‘Tipu vs Savarkar’ campaign continues: Karnataka BJP chief launches attack against ‘Tipu Sultan’s children’
2 min read 16 Feb 2023, 10:15 AM ISTThose who love Tipu Sultan should not stay in this land, claims Karnataka BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel.
PremiumNalin Kumar Kateel, the Karnataka BJP chief who is notorious for making contentious statements, has urged people to execute any fervent supporters of Tipu Sultan, the Mysorean emperor who ruled in the 18th century. He has stated that the descendants of Tipu Sultan ought to be driven away and consigned to the woods. Kateel’s comment comes as the Karnataka assembly election is less than three months away.
By asserting that the next assembly election in the state was all about "Tipu vs Savarkar", Kateel sparked controversy earlier in February.
By declaring that people who sing devotional songs for Lord Rama and Lord Hanuman should stay in Yelburga in the Koppal district rather than those who adore the 18th-century Mysuru emperor Tipu Sultan, Kateel sparked a controversy.
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"We are the devotees of Rama and Anjaneya (Hanuman). We do the work of Anjaneya. We are not the children of Tipu Sultan. We are the ones who will drive home Tipu's children," Kateel said.
As the crowd cheered, Kateel asked, "I want to ask the people of Yalaburga – whether you worship Anjaneya or sing praises of Tipu Sultan. Won't you drive away those singing praises of Tipu to the forest?"
The BJP leader referred to Anjaneya in the Koppal area, which is said to be the monkey kingdom depicted in the Hindu epic Ramayana as "Kishkindha Kshetra". At Anjanadri, the hill of Hanuman's mother Anjana, it is also thought that Hanuman was born there.
D K Shivakumar, the state president of the Congress, had a soft spot for Mohammed Shariq, according to Kateel. Shariq, a suspect in the Mangaluru cooker bombing, was hurt along with the autorickshaw's driver in November 2022 when the alleged cooker bomb he was holding exploded.
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Kateel claimed that Shivakumar had referred to Shariq as innocent and naive after the arrest. He poked fun at the Congress leader by claiming that the Congress leader had a deep love for one Belagavi cooker and one Mangaluru cooker. Kateel made reference to the purported free distribution of cookers in Belagavi by a Congress official hoping to run in the upcoming assembly election.
Kateel also mocked stalwart Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah by claiming that the "mass leader" has not found a constituency for himself to contest the election.
