Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Oct 23: The descendants of Tipu Sultan are mulling legal action against union minister of state for skill development Anantkumar Hegde over his tweet referring to Tipu Sultan as 'brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist'.
Bakhtiar Ali, a lawyer and one of the sixth generation descendants of Prince Mooniruddin, who was one of Tipu Sultan’s sons, said that the descendants were pained and humiliated by the minister’s tweet.
Alleging Hegde of defaming the Tiger of Mysore and tarnishing the image of Tipu Sultan, he said that the remarks were unacceptable. A meeting will be held among the family members and a collective decision on how to act against such unfounded comments will be taken, he said.
In a letter to the Karnataka government, the Union Minister had informed not to include his name on the list of invitees for the programmes scheduled on November 10 to mark Tipu Sultan Jayanti. He had warned to disclose Tipu’s bad history on stage, if invited citing protocol.
Another descendant of Tipu Sultan, Shahid Alam said that Hegde should have read writings of historians before commenting derogatorily. He demanded that Hedge should tender an unconditional apology for insulting the 18th century ruler of Mysore.
Bengaluru-based businessman Sahabzada Mansoor Ali Tipu said he would meet Karnataka home minister Ramalinga Reddy on Tuesday October 24 and may also file a complaint with the police. "On behalf of the descendants of Tipu Sultan, I am lodging a complaint against Hegde for calling our forefather a mass rapist and brutal killer," he told news agency PTI.
Ali said he would seek necessary action for Hegde's "uncalled for" comments on Tipu, who fought against the British.
"Being a union minister, he should not have made such irresponsible comments against a ruler who is revered as a hero in Karnataka. I seek an unconditional apology and necessary action against Hegde for his comments," he said.
Alleging that Hegde's comments could stoke "communal sentiments", he demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi drop him from his council of ministers. "The tweets of Hegde are distasteful and hurt not only family sentiments, but also the sentiments of the country. PM Modi should sack him as Union minister," he said.
Ali, who said he was a 7th generation descendant of Tipu Sultan, added that he was in touch with others in the family, including Bakhtiar Ali in Kolkata, who is contemplating taking legal action against Hegde.
Hegde had stirred a row after he requested the Karnataka government not to include his name in programme invitations for Tipu Jayanti celebrations. "(I have) conveyed (to) Karnataka government not to invite me to the shameful event of glorifying a person known as a brutal killer, wretched fanatic and mass rapist," Hegde said in a Tweet on October 20.
The BJP leader had also written to the chief secretary and Uttara Kannada deputy commissioner, asking them to direct the state government not to include his name in the programme invitations to mark the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan.
In 2016, Hegde had flayed the state government for celebrating Tipu Jayanti, claiming that the ruler was "against Kannada language and anti-Hindu".
Subsequently, Hegde was arrested for threatening to disrupt celebrations in the Uttara Kannada district.
The government's decision to celebrate the day on November 10 last year had been criticised by the BJP and RSS, who termed the act of the Congress as "minority appeasement".
The Siddaramaiah-led government is all set to celebrate Tipu Jayanti despite widespread protests and violence that had marred celebrations in the last two years.
With PTI Inputs