SAIYED MOZIZ IMAM ZAIDI
New Delhi, Feb 20 (IANS) After the hijab row, the Karnataka BJP is now digging into history to bring out skeletons from the closet, and the latest is Tipu Sultan whom the BJP leaders are trying to turn into an issue ahead of the Assembly polls.
The Congress termed it a diversionary tactic as it has indicated that it will only talk about the failures of the current BJP government and it’s corruption issue in the state.
Congress leader in the Karnataka Legislative Council B.K. Hariprasad said: “They are comparing Tipu Sultan with Savarkar. Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter who fought against Britishers and Savarkar supported Britishers. ”
But most of the AICC leaders want to focus on governance and alleged that the Bommai government is a “40 per cent commission” government.
Randeep Surjewala, general secretary in-charge of Karnataka, said, “The illegitimate Bommai govt built on the foundation of defection and corruption has become a curse for Brand Karnataka. As the tenure of ‘Brashtasura’ Bommai government comes to an end it leaves behind an unending trail of broken promises and shattered dreams as also brazen loot of public money.”
The BJP’s leaders are raking up the issue of Tipu Sultan to polarise the political game as the state goes to the polls in the next few months.
Karnataka minister for higher education C.N. Ashwath Narayan stirred a controversy on Thursday with his controversial statement to “finish off” Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
Hariprasad said, “it’s nothing but trying to communalise.” He added that the BJP has lost the play due to corruption and misgovernance and it is making a last ditch effort to stay relevant in the state’s politics.
Narayan had issued the controversial statement during a public programme in Satanur in Mandya district. “Siddaramaiah will come to the place of Tipu Sultan (erstwhile ruler of Mysore). Do you want Veer Savarkar or Tipu Sultan? You have to decide. You know what Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda (soldiers who fought Tipu Sultan) did to Tipu Sultan. Likewise, he (Siddaramaiah) should be finished off.”
Congress leaders have lodged a complaint at the Malleshwaram police station in Bengaluru and demanded that an attempt to murder case be registered against Narayan.
“From the last one month, hate speeches are being delivered. The provoking statements are issued in Ullal and Tumakuru. There should be an end to it. Minister Ashwath Narayan is a doctor. All problems are from the learned,” he charged.
Narayan stated that “He had compared Siddaramaiah to Tipu Sultan. I have spoken about the love of Siddaramaiah towards Tipu Sultan. I have not spoken disrespectfully about him. I have given a call to defeat the Congress party which glorified a killer (Tipu Sultan). There is no personal enmity. This is an ideological difference. If he is hurt, I apologise to him,” he said making his intentions clear.
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