BENGALURU: Deputy Chief Minister and Congress leader G Parameshwara, who was scheduled to inaugurate Tipu Jayanthi celebrations at the Vidhana Soudha on Saturday but did not attend the event, was in Singapore on Saturday morning, the organizers of the event said. Parameshwara skipping the event was due to a 'miscommunication' regarding the schedule of the event, officials from the Kannada and Culture department, the organizing body, said.
According to Food and Civil Supplies Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, who attended the event in Parameshwara's absence, said that Parameshwara was under the impression that the event was scheduled to be held at 6.30 PM and he had made arrangements to land in Bengaluru around 3-4 pm. The Dy CM had visited Singapore to visit ailing former minister C Channigappa. "He hadn't realised that the event has been rescheduled from 6.30 pm in the evening to 11.30 am in the morning. As a result, he was not able to attend as Parameshwara will land in Bengaluru from Singapore only at around 3-4 pm," he said.
In the absence of both Kumaraswamy and Parameshwara, Water Resources and Medical Education Minister DK Shivakumar - who was not named in the official invite - inaugurated the event. JD(S) representatives were conspicuous in their absence with none of the MLAs or MLCs attending the event. Though Legislative Council pro-tem chairman Basavaraj Horatti was among the invitees for the Vidhana Soudha event, he too did not attend the same.
Tipu Sultan was a mass murderer: KG Bopaiah
MADIKERI: MLA K G Bopaiah, one among the dignitaries present at the Tipu Jayanthi celebration ceremony held at Taluk Office in Virajpet town, opposed the state government’s move of continuing to celebrate Tipu Jayanthi in Kodagu district despite the previous years’ unrests.
Presiding over the ceremonial event at the Taluk Office, K G Bopaiah took over the mike at the event and made an elaborate speech on the tyranny of Tipu Sultan. “BJP will oppose any celebration that will hurt the sentiments of people of Kodagu. Tipu Sultan was a mass murderer who inflicted distress to the people of Kodagu. The half-demolished statues of elephants at Bhagamandala Temple stand as a witness to the wickedness inflicted by Tipu Sultan. Tipu has destroyed many temples in the district and has murdered thousands of Kodava people. Celebrating this tyrant’s anniversary is a disgrace to the government” echoed K G Bopaiah.
Following his speech, the BJP workers shouted slogans against Tipu Sultan and state government. All the BJP workers, along with MLA K G Bopaiah, were later arrested by the police force on the backdrop of causing hurdle to the state government sponsored Tipu Jayanthi celebration. The Tipu Jayanthi ceremony resumed amidst the unrest at Virajpet.
Meanwhile, the entire Virajpet town came to a standstill as all the shops including schools were closed down following the voluntary bandh call initiated by Tipu Jayanthi Virodhi Samithi. Private buses and autorickshaws too stayed out of the roads on November 10.