Don’t invite me to Tipu Sultan Jayanti events: Karnataka minister Ananth Kumar Hegde to govt

Last year, Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Karnataka were marred by clashes between Muslims from outfits like Popular Front of India and members of Hindutva groups like Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad in the Kodagu region of the state.

The office of Ananth Kumar Hegde, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in the Narendra Modi government, has written to the office of the Chief Minister of Karnataka seeking omission of the minister’s name from official announcements for the celebration of the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan, the 18th-century ruler of Mysuru. In a letter written on October 14 to the Karnataka government, Hegde’s office said that the minister had ordered omission of his name by all state government departments and district authorities planning to celebrate the birth anniversary of Tipu.

In a separate letter to district authorities in the Uttara Kannada district from the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency office of Hedge, the minister’s secretary Suresh Shetty stated that the Karnataka government was going ahead with plans to celebrate Tipu’s birth anniversary on November 10 despite opposition from various quarters.

“Tipu was anti-Kannada and anti-Hindu and history says this. The celebrations of Tipu Jayanti last year resulted in law and order problems in the state. The decision of the government to celebrate the birth anniversary of a divisive leader is condemned by the minister,’’ the letter states,while demanding the omission of Hegde’s name from official programme lists for Tipu Jayanti.

Last year, Tipu Jayanti celebrations in Karnataka were marred by clashes between Muslims from outfits like Popular Front of India and members of Hindutva groups like Bajrang Dal and Vishva Hindu Parishad in the Kodagu region of the state.