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Business News/ Politics / News/  BJP government in Karnataka axes Tipu Sultan Jayanti
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BJP government in Karnataka axes Tipu Sultan Jayanti

The orders coming barely a day after Yediyurappa proved his majority in the legislative assembly
  • The order states that there have been several protests in various parts of the state against the celebration of Tipu Jayanthi, especially in Kodagu district
  • Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa (ANI file)Premium
    Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa (ANI file)

    Bengaluru: The newly formed Karnataka government on Tuesday cancelled celebrations of Tipu Sultan Jayanti, indicating how the B.S. Yediyurappa-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led rule would not eulogise any aspect of the 18th century controversial ruler of erstwhile Mysuru.

    The orders coming barely a day after Yediyurappa proved his majority in the legislative assembly and almost three years after the Congress government initiated the celebrations.

    Ironically, Yediyurappa had addressed his first press conference after his swearing in on Friday while facing a portrait of Tipu Sultan in the conference room of Vidhana Soudha.

    The order states that there have been several protests in various parts of the state against the celebration of Tipu Jayanthi, especially in Kodagu district. The people of the coffee growing district, are opposed to the celebrations and two people had died as a result when the protests turned violent in 2016.

    "In the backdrop of all this, the cabinet has decided that Tipu Sultan celebrations by the Kannada and culture department have been canceled with immediate effect," the order added.

    K.G.Bopaiah, the BJP legislator from Virajpet in Kodagu sought that Tipu Jayanthi be cancelled.

    The order putting the Congress and BJP, that resolved to work together for the development of the state, on a collision course over the contentious topic. The new government has also been accused of scrapping works and appointments made during the previous government, that is likely to add to the commotion on Wednesday, when the legislature is scheduled to reconvene. The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government had initiated government sponsored celebrations on 10 November, since 2016.

    "For three years continuously we have celebrated it and the people of Karnataka, too, have accepted it. He was a man who fought the British. According to me, he is the first freedom fighter, " Siddaramaiah said in Bengaluru.

    He added that the order highlighted the anti-minority attitude of the BJP. "Their ideology is also not secular," he said.

    The new orders likely to increase the animosity between the Congress and BJP that have accused each other of ignoring the needs of the drought hit state to satiate its thirst for power.

    The Congress maintains that Tipu Sultan was a national hero while the BJP and its right wing affiliates have been channeling the tyrannical stories of mass murder, torture and pillaging against Kodavas, brahmins and Christians among others, to stop the celebrations.

    There are varying versions of the legacy of the former ruler continuing to fuel the right versus liberal narrative that has engulfed India, more so in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections.

    Yediurappa said there were many protests over the celebrations and the government took a decision to scrap the celebrations.

    For the Congress, celebrating the birth of the 18th century ruler—considered the first to oppose the British East India Company and using rocket technology in battle—is part of its political ideology as muslims a key component of its voter base.

    Tipu Sultan was born on 10 November 1750 at Devanahalli, in the outskirts of Bengaluru, and was the ruler of then Mysore from 1782 till his death in 1799. The BJP and the Congress have often crossed swords on the issue that has seen violence in several parts of the state, especially in Kodagu district.

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    Published: 30 Jul 2019, 04:10 PM IST
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