Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel has made a controversial statement about 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan. He said that the staunch followers of Tipu Sultan should not live, and he said that the descendants of Tipu Sultan should be sent to the forests. Kateel said this while addressing BJP supporters at Yelaburga in Koppal district on Wednesday, February 15.
Nalin Kumar Kateel said, “We are devotees of Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman. We pray and bow to Lord Hanuman and we are not descendants of Tipu. Let’s send Tipu’s descendants back home.”
He said, “I ask people here whether you worship Lord Hanuman or Tipu. Then will you send those who are staunch followers of Tipu to the jungle? I am issuing a challenge – those who are staunch followers of Tipu should not survive on this fertile land.”
Medieval Islamist tyrant Tipu sultan forcefully converted thousands of Hindus to Islam. The previous Siddaramaiah government had celebrated Tipu Sultan’s birth anniversary for two consecutive years. The BJP has been constantly raising questions about this.
Nalin Kumar Kateel also criticized former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, referring to him as a “broker” who had earlier struck arrangements with the JDS and now with the Congress to become the CM face in the next assembly elections. He said that if Congress returns to power in the state, it will convert Karnataka into a Congress ATM.
About Siddaramaiah, Nalin Kumar Kateel said, “He calls me a joker, I call him a broker. In this country, it’s okay if someone becomes a joker but it’s difficult if one becomes a villain, they’ll abduct anyone they want. All their stories are about abduction. He brokered and stayed in the Congress, he brokered and stayed in the JDS and once again brokered and became a chief minister.”
The Tipu Sultan versus Hanuman debate gained momentum when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made a statement on the matter ahead of the 2018 assembly elections in the state. Yogi Adityanath had said that “Karnataka is the land of Hanuman, which was once ruled by the Vijayanagara Empire. It is unfortunate that congress is worshipping Tipu Sultan instead of worshipping Hanuman and Vijayanagar, if Congress loses then no one will come to worship Tipu.”
Earlier, in a statement, Kateel had said that this time the assembly elections will be fought on the issue of Tipu vs Savarkar. He had said that the Congress celebrated Tipu’s birth anniversary, which was not needed, and insulted Savarkar. The Karnataka assembly elections are likely to be held in April-May this year.
