NEW DELHI: Karnataka home minister Priyank Kharge on Tuesday defended Tipu Sultan, saying that while the former Mysore ruler fought four Anglo-Mysore Wars, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had “no role in India’s freedom struggle.”“The BJP needs to get its history right. Tipu Sultan fought four Anglo-Mysore Wars. The RSS did not even participate in the freedom struggle. They did not take part in the Civil Disobedience Movement, Quit India Movement, Dandi March or Non-Cooperation Movement, nor were they involved in any of the Round Table Conferences. They did nothing, yet they are the ones dictating terms,” Priyank Kharge, son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, told reporters.The RSS is the ideological mentor of the BJP, which is the principal opposition party in Karnataka and has been India’s governing party since 2014.The Congress leader also cited a book in which senior BJP leader and former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa had praised Tipu Sultan, accusing the BJP of engaging in “pure opportunistic politics”. Priyank Kharge alleged that the saffron party adopts a pro-minority stance while seeking votes but changes its position after elections.Also Read | ‘Double standards’: Congress posts ex-President Ramnath Kovind’s video ‘praising’ Tipu Sultan“The BJP opposed Tipu Jayanti when Yediyurappa ji was the chief minister, yet he had praised Tipu Sultan in a book. You cannot erase Tipu Sultan’s contributions to the state. This is nothing but politics. When they want votes, they become pro-minority; when they don’t, they behave differently. The government will take a decision. You cannot simply erase history, whether you like it or not,” he added.
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His remarks came after cultural organisation Tehrik-e-Khudadad submitted a memorandum to Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar, urging the state government to reinstate the official celebration of Tipu Sultan Jayanti on November 10.The organisation also called on the authorities to review school textbooks to ensure that Tipu Sultan and his father, Hyder Ali, receive what it described as “historically accurate” coverage.The proposal is currently pending before the Chief Minister’s Office.Tipu Sultan Jayanti was first introduced in 2015 by the Congress government led by then chief minister Siddaramaiah. However, the celebration was discontinued in 2019 by the-then BJP-led government.