Chitradurga (Karnataka): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday accused the Congress of distorting history to “divide” the country and flayed the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka for celebrating the "jayantis of Sultans" for the sake of "vote bank politics".
The PM was apparently referring to the Siddaramaiah government's controversial decision to celebrate ‘Tipu Jayanti’ every year on November 10 to commemorate the memory of Tipu Sultan, the legendary 18th century ruler of Mysore.
Addressing an election rally, Modi said, "Look at the character of the Congress.... They don’t think about heroes whose jayanti needs to be celebrated with respect, from whom we have to draw inspiration for generations to generations.”
"Veera Madakari and Onake Obavva are forgotten, but for the sake of vote bank politics, they celebrate jayantis of Sultans," he said.
Onake Obavva, a Dalit woman, was the legendary wife of a soldier in the army of Madakari Nayaka, the last ruler of Chitradurga. She is said to have fought single-handedly and killed with a pestle several invading soldiers of the army of Hyder Ali, father of Tipu Sultan, in 1779. She was killed by Hyder Ali's soldiers in her valiant effort to protect the fort where her husband was the guard of a watch tower.
Celebration of ‘Tipu Jayanti’ is strongly opposed by the BJP.
The celebration has also triggered a sharp division in society with some hailing Tipu Sultan as a hero who died fighting the British, while others calling him a "fanatic" ruler.
"By celebrating this jayanti, Congress has insulted people of Karnataka and Chitradurga. They have played with sentiments and feelings of people of Chitradurga,” Modi said.
(With PTI inputs)
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