Bengaluru: Amid a heated debate on Tipu Sultan’s birthday celebrations, an old photo of former chief minister and senior BJP leader Jagadish Shettar dressed as Tipu Sultan has gone viral on social media.
Former Deputy chief minister R Ashoka and former Lok Sabha member D B Chandre Gowda are also seen wearing the headgear in the viral photos.
In his response, Shettar said the photo was not from Tipu Jayanti celebrations. “It was from an award ceremony of the party’s minority morcha, where we were given headgears and swords,” he said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said Shettar had written a foreword to a book praising the valour of Tipu. Shettar had called Tipu a patriot in a book written by historian Sheikh Ali.
Many BJP leaders, including Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde, had refused to join the birthday celebrations of Tipu Sultan, terming him “anti-Hindu and anti-Kannada.”
BJP general secretary and MP Shobha Karandlaje said the party will launch a protest if the government goes ahead with the celebrations.
“There is no need to include the names of BJP leaders in the invitation on the pretext of following protocol. The government is spreading communal hatred by repeatedly organising Tipu Jayanti.” Shobha said.
The Siddaramaiah government has decided to celebrate Tipu Jayanti on November 10, when the BJP is planning to call a statewide protest against the ‘minority appeasement’ politics.
