MYSURU: The controversial Tipu Jayanti celebrations which has the BJP up in arms, also seems to have not gone down well with the minorities as both Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara kept away from the official event. The community, which had thrown its weight behind the Congress for taking a decision to celebrate Tipu Jayanti as a government event, feels left out in the cold.
Though ministers participated in the events held in the districts, the absence of Kumaraswamy and Parameshwara has raised eyebrows in political circles. The event, which was started by the previous Siddaramaiah-led Congress government and celebrated on a grand scale for past three years, was a low-key affair this year in many places as it was held under heavy police security. In Srirangapatna, the capital of Tipu, people were barred from taking out processions, carrying banners, bunting and even moving in groups to the Tipu tomb.
The confusion started when Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara announced that the venue of the Tipu Jayanti celebration will be shifted to Ravindra Kalakshetra in Bengaluru. But it was shifted back to the banquet hall in Vidhana Soudha after Siddaramaiah’s intervention.With the social media and BJP groups going to town with the version that Siddaramaiah lost power after celebrating Tipu Jayanti, the CM, along with his family, coincidentally moved to a resort in Heggadevana Kote for rest on the advise of the doctors. The Kannada and Culture department invite for the event also came without the name of H D Kumaraswamy.
Making matters worse, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara left Bengaluru for Singapore on Saturday, the day of the official celebration, leaving Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan to hold fort in Bengaluru. The only solace for Zameer Ahmad was felicitating Siddaramaiah at his home office on eve of Tipu Jayanti.
Though Higher Education Minister G T Devegowda maintained that the chief minister had stayed away from Jayanti celebration on medical advice, senior legislator Tanveer Sait came out in the open to express his displeasure over both the CM and Deputy CM staying away from the event. “The community would have been happy if Kumaraswamy had at least participated in the Tipu Jayanti celebration at H D Kote. What message will the community get from the absence of the top leaders in the government?” he asked.
Community members also strongly objected to the restrictions imposed by the police on the celebrations. “When people are allowed to congregate in good numbers for mourning, they are stopped during celebrations,” rued Prof Shabeer Moh Mustaffa. He alleged that the ruling coalition government is also playing politics by staying away from celebrations.
“We are not worried by the BJP’s protest against Tipu Jayanti. We are shocked by the JD(S)-Congress leaders’ failure to exhibit their political will to honour a warrior,” said Akbar, a minority youth.However, Siddaramaiah, while maintaining that that the government has celebrated Tipu Jayanti in a grand manner across the state, felt that the CM and his deputy should have attended the event. “I have not spoken to them. Parameshwara is preoccupied with a programme I was told”, he added.Denying that Tipu Jayanti was not been celebrated in a grand manner, he said that all ministers have participated in the celebrations organised by the government. It was not held by an organisation, he clarified.
‘If I am Siddu Khan then BSY is Yeddi Khan’
Mysuru: “If I am Siddu Khan then Yeddyurappa who had also celebrated Tipu Jayanti is Yeddi Khan,” said former chief minister Siddaramaiah. He was reacting to BJP spokesperson G Madhusudhan calling him ‘Siddu Khan’. He said former chief minister Jagadish Shettar wrote a preface to a book on Tipu Sultan. “While, former ministers R Ashok, and Sriramulu as also MP P C Mohan have been seen wearing the Tipu turban, what names will the BJP give them? he asked. Refuting MP Nalinkumar Kateel’s conversion remark, Siddaramaiah said people with inhuman qualities are the ones who indulge in conversion.
Protests mar jayanti in NK
Hubballi: Tipu Jayanti celebrations were a low-key affair and protests by BJP workers were staged across North Karnataka. In Hubballi-Dharwad, prohibitory order was imposed under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code to restrict gathering of public in large numbers. Despite the ban, the BJP workers, tying black ribbons on their shoulders, gathered in front of MP Prahlad Joshi’s office and staged protests. In Haveri, District Minister Zameer Ahemad Khan stayed away from the function. The police in Sirsi arrested five persons who took out a bike rally in favour of Tipu Sultan. As many as 15 people were detained in Yellapur for staging protest.