BJP leaders should not speak about rewriting history: Congress leader on Tipu Sultan row

As Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that the state government is considering a proposal to remove Tipu Sultan's name from school textbooks, former state's law minister and Congress leader TB Jayachandra said that the BJP leaders should not speak about rewriting history as it may damage peace in the society.

"Any BJP leader who comes from Kodagu region will demand to remove Tipu Sultan's name from history. But just to satisfy them, a senior leader like Yediyurappa should not take such decision to remove Tipu Sultan's name," Jayachandra said.

"The BJP leaders, again and again, speak on such issues to rewrite the history which may cause damage to the peace in the society. That's why they should not speak about rewriting history," he added.

The Karnataka Chief Minister had made the statement on Wednesday.

"About Tipu Jayanti, we are going to drop everything. We are also thinking to drop everything in the textbooks about him. I do not agree with people who say that Tipu Sultan was a freedom fighter," Yediyurappa said.

Earlier, on October 28 State Education Minister Suresh Kumar wrote to the Managing Director of Karnataka Textbook Society, directing him to submit a report in three days on BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan's proposal to strike off references to Tipu Sultan from history textbooks.