BJP to boycott Tipu Jayanti celebrations

The state BJP will oppose Tipu Jayanti celebrations and will boycott all programmes planned by the Kannada and Culture Department pertaining to the occasion on November 10.

BJP leader and former deputy chief minister R Ashoka told reporters in Bengaluru that the ruler of the erstwhile Mysore kingdom was “anti-Kannada and intolerant”.

He said the BJP will support the government if it organised birthday celebrations of former president Abdul Kalam or Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Frontier Gandhi).

Protests in Madikeri

Last year too, Tipu Jayanti celebrations were boycotted by the BJP and other Sangh Parivar outfits. Protests in  Madikeri in Kodagu district led to violence which claimed two lives and left several injured.