Karnataka Congress MLA Tanveer Sait has promised a 100 feet statue of Tipu Sultan in Srirangapatna of Karnataka’s Mysuru.
“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 are 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.
Sait further said that the statue would be the epitome of “true history.” 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.”
Reacting to the announcement, former chief minister Siddaramaiah claimed that BJP was 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.
Since 2015, Tipu Sultan has been in the controversy 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 had 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.