In a shocking observation, Karnataka High Court (HC) has asked the state BJP government led by BS Yeddyurappa to ‘reconsider its decision’ to not celebrate the Islamic tyrant, Tipu Sultan on his birthday. The BJP government had decided to stop celebrating Tipu Jayanti as the Congress had in the past and Karnataka HC has taken exception to that. The government decision was challenged in court through a Public Interest Litigation.
The BJP government had told the Karnataka High Court (HC) that it will not stop any individual from celebrating Tipu Jayanti but the government itself will not be celebrating like the Congress governments used to in the past. To this, the Karnataka High Court has asked the BJP government to reconsider its decision to abandon the celebration of the Islamic tyrant.
The Karnataka High Court has given the Karnataka government two months to take a decision keeping ‘all aspects’ in mind. The case has now been adjourned to January 2020.
Read: Karnataka: Yeddyurappa led BJP govt overturns previous govt order, cancels Tipu Jayanti celebrations
Yesterday, hearing the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Bilal Ali, a resident of Lucknow, Tipu National Service Association and Tipu Sultan United Forum, the bench led by Chief Justice of Karnataka High court A S Oka questioned State Government the reason behind cancelling the event which was being celebrated from previous four years.
In the PIL the litigant had challenged the government’s move to cancel Tipu Jayanti and had also claimed it to be a violation of Article 14 and 15 of Indian Constitution.
Interestingly, in 2016, Karnataka High Court had questioned the rationale behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti. In 2016, Congress was in power and Siddaramaiah was the Chief Minister of Karnataka. It had observed that Tipu was a Monarch and not a freedom fighter and hence, had questioned the government over their rationale of celebrating him.
“What is the logic behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti? Tipu was not a freedom fighter, but a monarch who fought the opponents to safeguard his interests,” Chief Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee, presiding over the division bench had observed. Justice Mukherjee had also questioned the logic behind celebrating Tipu Jayanti amid fears of communal tension escalating in Kodagu district and other parts of the state.
