Siddaramaiah's Tipu Sultan Jayanthi plan riles opposition in Karnataka

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's move to celebrate Tipu Sultan's anniversary this week, for the second time has riled opposition parties, which have called it divisive.

Leading the protest against celebrating the 17th century ruler who died fighting the British is former chief minister and BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. The BJP leader, who last month got acquitted of corruption charges by the CBI court in Bengaluru, is tasked to bring the party back to power in the forthcoming assembly elections in 2018.

The BJP has called for a bandh on November 10, the day of the celebrations, in Kodagu district where Tipu Sultan is said to have massacred thousands of innocents. Yeddyurappa is expected to meet Union Minister Rajnath Singh to brief him about the law and order situation in the state.

 "It is the end for congress government. At the most, Siddaramaiah can run the Tughlaq durbar for another year," says Yeddyurappa.

But Siddaramaiah is insistent that the celebrations continue and called the protestors communal. Over 10 platoons of paramilitary Rapid Action Force (RAF) have been called to hold fort in Kodagu to prevent untoward incidents. Last year, a VHP leader died after falling in a gorge while being chased by lathi wielding policemen ahead of the celebrations.

Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is aligned with the NDA, called the celebrations a tactic by the Congress to appease the minority vote bank.

"The Congress government's attempt to 'celebrate' Tipu Jayanthi is another instance of using Karnataka to further the party’s political objectives, despite its obvious dangerous negative fallout. This time it is a cheap obvious minority vote tactic with an eye on UP elections and Karnataka elections," he said in a statement.

Analysts say BJP is also at fault to rake up the Tipu issue as the party prepares ground in its fight to regain power in the state.

"The BJP's campaign against Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan in the state, especially in Chitradurga, Coorg and Mangalore, shows that they have chosen to consolidate votes on the anti-Muslim plank," says Chandan Gowda, Professor of Sociology at the Azim Premji University. "They don't appear confident about banking on PM Modi’s achievements for their poll strategy."

Hyder Ali, father of Tipu Sultan, was the ruler of Mysuru.

Siddaramaiah, who led the Congress party to power, has been struggling to retain his chair due to infighting, corruption charges and the latest being the protests by citizens to build a steel flyover in the heart of Bengaluru. The move to celebrate Tipu Sultan's anniversary could open up demands from people of other communities for similar events for their leaders.

"In general, the government ought to steer clear of celebrating Jayanthis. Since the figures chosen for the Jayanthi celebrations will tend to be icons of particular religious or caste or tribal groups, it can set off a chain of competitive dissatisfactions and rivalries among the different communities in the state," says Prof. Gowda.