Prohibitory orders have been imposed in most of the districts in the State as a precautionary measure during the Tipu Jayanti celebrations on Saturday. “No processions or public meetings, either celebrating or opposing Tipu Jayanti, are allowed across the State,” said Kamal Pant, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order), Karnataka.
Special security measures have been put in place in Kodagu and Chitradurga districts, where the local communities are antagonistic to Tipu Sultan. In both the districts, Tipu Jyanti can fan communal violence on caste and religious lines, to adequate security measures are in place to prevent this, a senior officer said. Three companies of Rapid Action Force have been deployed in those districts. RAF personnel even conducted a flag march in Madikeri on Friday.
A Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) worker, Kuttappa, died during a clash that erupted during Tipu Jayanti in 2015 — the first year the State government began celebrating the day. The Tipu Jayanti Virodhi Horata Samiti, a local organisation in Kodagu, has threatened to protest on Saturday despite the prohibitory orders. The BJP, which has been at the forefront of the opposition to the celebrations, terming Tipu Sultan “a tyrant who killed Hindus”, staged protests in the district centres on Friday, in light of prohibitory orders on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the police will turn Vidhana Soudha, where the official programme will be held, into a fortress on Saturday. It will be an entry-for-invitees-only event and the official invitation is mandatory for people to be let into the Soudha, senior officials said. This is to prevent disturbances during the programme.