BENGALURU: The state government on Friday declared that Tipu Jayanti celebration were an example of the government's secularism.
On a day when the state government was caught off guard with thousands gathering on the footsteps of Vidhana Soudha, prompting Chief minister Siddaramaiah to also declare that a more lavish celebration of Tipu's birthday will be held in 2018, the government tried to project the actions as an act of secularism versus the communal forces led by the BJP.
"These low balls, Jagadish Shettar, B S Yeddyurappa and K S Eshwarappa, are using this occasion to divide the society on communal lines for political gains," said Siddaramaiah.
The chief minister used the government's celebration platform to attack the BJP and accuse the saffron party of being intolerant and spreading lies about Tipu.
"Murders may have occurred in his reign. But murders also happened during the reign of Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty. But using it as an example to allege Tipu was a mass murderer shows the intent to re-write history for political gains," said Siddaramaiah.
The CM said his government will have an even more lavish celebration next year.
"This year, to avoid untoward incidents and to ensure law and order we decided to have the celebrations inside the Banquet hall of the Vidhana Soudha. Next year, we will come back to power and have a grand celebration on the steps of the Soudha," he said, received by a thunderous applause.
Kannada and Culture minister Umasree added yet another title to Tipu by calling him "Baadshah" and said he was an example of secularism in Karnataka.
Zameer's show of strength plunges Secretariat into chaos
On the verge of joining Congress, with an assembly ticket ensured, rebel JD(S) MLA from Chamrajpet Zameer Ahmed Khan used the official celebration of Tipu Jayanti for his show of strength.
While the Kannada and Culture department had estimated not more than 2,000 people to participate, the Bengaluru police and home department were overwhelmed with the crowd of no less than 6,000 to 7,000 people coming on to the gates of the Vidhan Soudha. Chaos. Result: The security was thrown to wind, with orders to allow all people inside the gates of the sensitive area.
The police finally managed to get their act together and barred entry into the Vidhan Soudha. However, in the melee, the popular Chamrajpet minority leader was given a free hand to put on a show outside and argued over allowing him and all his followers inside the Banquet hall to attend the function. The majority of the crowd was said to be from Chamrajpet and Pulakeshinagar.
Such was the chaos that CM Siddaramaiah had to come through the back gate of the Vidhana Soudha to attend the function and stop the event for waving at the burgeoning crowd on the lawns of the Soudha from the third floor to calm the passion of people gathered.
Zameer, along with his son Zaid Khan and his colleague MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy crashed the official function and were even invited on to the dais despite them not being part of the government.
Tipu descendants not invited, community leaders demand to rename Ballari road to Tipu Sultan road
Even as the official celebration of Tipu Jayanti was considered a "success" for the government, three descendants of Tipu sultan found themselves "not invited" to the party.
The three descendants include Bakhtiar Ali Shah (sixth generation), Shahebzada Mohammad Shahid Alam (seventh generation) and Syed Mansoor Ali (seventh generation), all of whom claim to be descendants of the erstwhile Sultan of Mysuru. They were in Bengaluru hoping for an invitation to attend the birth anniversary of their ancestor. However, there was no invitation and they were forced to vent out their frustration in front of the media at another location in the city.
Meanwhile, at the event, the minority community led by Maulana Zameer Ahmed Khan appealed to chief minister Siddaramaiah to rename the Bellary road which connects to Devanahalli and Tipu's tomb as the Tipu Sultan road.
However, there was no commitment from the government in the matter.
On a day when the state government was caught off guard with thousands gathering on the footsteps of Vidhana Soudha, prompting Chief minister Siddaramaiah to also declare that a more lavish celebration of Tipu's birthday will be held in 2018, the government tried to project the actions as an act of secularism versus the communal forces led by the BJP.
"These low balls, Jagadish Shettar, B S Yeddyurappa and K S Eshwarappa, are using this occasion to divide the society on communal lines for political gains," said Siddaramaiah.
The chief minister used the government's celebration platform to attack the BJP and accuse the saffron party of being intolerant and spreading lies about Tipu.
"Murders may have occurred in his reign. But murders also happened during the reign of Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan dynasty. But using it as an example to allege Tipu was a mass murderer shows the intent to re-write history for political gains," said Siddaramaiah.
The CM said his government will have an even more lavish celebration next year.
"This year, to avoid untoward incidents and to ensure law and order we decided to have the celebrations inside the Banquet hall of the Vidhana Soudha. Next year, we will come back to power and have a grand celebration on the steps of the Soudha," he said, received by a thunderous applause.
Kannada and Culture minister Umasree added yet another title to Tipu by calling him "Baadshah" and said he was an example of secularism in Karnataka.
Zameer's show of strength plunges Secretariat into chaos
On the verge of joining Congress, with an assembly ticket ensured, rebel JD(S) MLA from Chamrajpet Zameer Ahmed Khan used the official celebration of Tipu Jayanti for his show of strength.
While the Kannada and Culture department had estimated not more than 2,000 people to participate, the Bengaluru police and home department were overwhelmed with the crowd of no less than 6,000 to 7,000 people coming on to the gates of the Vidhan Soudha. Chaos. Result: The security was thrown to wind, with orders to allow all people inside the gates of the sensitive area.
The police finally managed to get their act together and barred entry into the Vidhan Soudha. However, in the melee, the popular Chamrajpet minority leader was given a free hand to put on a show outside and argued over allowing him and all his followers inside the Banquet hall to attend the function. The majority of the crowd was said to be from Chamrajpet and Pulakeshinagar.
Such was the chaos that CM Siddaramaiah had to come through the back gate of the Vidhana Soudha to attend the function and stop the event for waving at the burgeoning crowd on the lawns of the Soudha from the third floor to calm the passion of people gathered.
Zameer, along with his son Zaid Khan and his colleague MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy crashed the official function and were even invited on to the dais despite them not being part of the government.
Tipu descendants not invited, community leaders demand to rename Ballari road to Tipu Sultan road
Even as the official celebration of Tipu Jayanti was considered a "success" for the government, three descendants of Tipu sultan found themselves "not invited" to the party.
The three descendants include Bakhtiar Ali Shah (sixth generation), Shahebzada Mohammad Shahid Alam (seventh generation) and Syed Mansoor Ali (seventh generation), all of whom claim to be descendants of the erstwhile Sultan of Mysuru. They were in Bengaluru hoping for an invitation to attend the birth anniversary of their ancestor. However, there was no invitation and they were forced to vent out their frustration in front of the media at another location in the city.
Meanwhile, at the event, the minority community led by Maulana Zameer Ahmed Khan appealed to chief minister Siddaramaiah to rename the Bellary road which connects to Devanahalli and Tipu's tomb as the Tipu Sultan road.
However, there was no commitment from the government in the matter.
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