BJP busy with distorting history: Siddaramaiah on Tipu Sultan's statue row

After a political controversy erupted following an announcement by Karnataka Congress MLA Tanveer Sait promising the installation of a 100 feet Tipu Sultan's statue in Srirangapatna, former chief minister of the state Siddaramaiah hit out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying that the party has been busy distorting the history around the 18th-century warrior.

"Why can't the statue of Tipu Sultan be built? Does he not deserve a statue? The BJP always distorts history. One should remember what they said about Narayan Guru, Ambedkar and others. They always twist and falsify facts," Siddaramaiah said on Saturday.

Tanveer Sait on Thursday promised a 100 feet statue of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatna or Karnataka's Mysuru that erupted in a political row.

Sait, who was elected MLA from the Narasimharaja constituency, said the statue would stand as a symbol of the "true history" of Tipu Sultan for the coming generations, further claiming that the history around the warrior has been "distorted" by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

"A 100-feet-tall statue of Tipu Sultan will be erected in Mysuru or Srirangapatna which will stand as a symbol of the actual history around him. The BJP government has been distorting the history around Tipu Sultan and is bent on running his legacy down. Hence, there was an urgent need to build this statue," Sait said while taking part in the Tipu Kannada Rajyotsava in Mysuru on Thursday.

He said, "Despite the ban on erecting idols in Islam, I will still erect a statue of Tipu, to tell the truth to the next generations."

Former chief minister Siddaramaiah also reacted to the announcement, claiming that the BJP was busy distorting the history around the 18th-century warrior.

Reacting to his announcement, Sri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik on Saturday said, "If Karnataka Congress MLA Tanveer Seth installs a statue of Tipu Sultan then it will be demolished just like the Babri disputed structure was demolished in Ayodhya."

Popularly known as the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan has been the subject of controversy in the state, especially since 2015 when the BJP and the Congress fought over the need to celebrate the 18th-century ruler's birthday.

During the Congress rule in 2017, former chief minister Siddaramaiah announced the celebration of Tipu Jayanti on November 10.

However, in 2018, Uttara Kannada MP and then Union minister Ananthkumar Hegde condemned the state government's decision to celebrate Tipu Sultan's birth anniversary.

According to documented history, Tipu Sultan fought against the British and died in 1799 while defending his capital Srirangapatna (present-day Mandya).

The celebration of the 18th-century ruler's birth anniversary had pitted the BJP against the Congress, with several party leaders condemning the grand old party.