On a new turn of events, the descendants of Tipu Sultan are contemplating to initiate legal action against Anant Kumar Hegde’s “He was a mass rapist” comment, made four days ago on micro blogging site Twitter.
Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde’s controversial statements on Tipu Sultan has rubbed the wrong way into Tipu Sultan’s descendants. One of Tipu’s descendants Bakhtiar Ali spoke to media, saying – “I was aghast to hear it last night. He was such a revered ruler. I do not know on what basis he has levelled such allegations and tarnished the image of the ruler. He was a national hero and the Tiger of Mysore. Minister should give unconditional apology.”
Ali, one of the sixth generation descendants of Prince Mooniruddin – one of Tipu’s sons – is contemplating to initiate legal action against Hegde. Prince Mooniruddin is one of the 12 sons of Tipu Sultan, who were deported to Kolkata by the British after Tipu’s death.
Shahid Alam, one of Tipu’s descendants, spoke to other media agency and said – “We are surprised and hurt by the comments of the Union Minister. The minister’s comments reflect the party’s agenda to appease non-Muslims in Karnataka for his vote bank.”
The Tipu Jayanti faces intense opposition. Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Anant Kumar Hegde tweeted on October 20th that Tipu Sultan was a brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist, and Hegde protested against his name being printed on the invitation of annual Tipu Jayanti celebrations.
To this, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah condemned Hedge for refusing to be a part of events. He added, “As per the protocol, we have printed the names of dignitaries on the invitation. It’s up to them whether to attend or not.”
This irked the BJP Minister further and he barked in his tweet –
The conflict between ruling govt and opposition is at its wit’s end ever since 2015, when Tipu Jayanti celebrations have begun in Karnataka. Be it a Taj Mahal or a Tipu Sultan, BJP still finds it more important to live in the past, and uses it as an escape from more important burning issues like unemployment, infant mortality or education.
