Siddaramaiah condemns Hegde for refusing to participate in Tipu Jayanti celebration

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday condemned Union Minister of State for Skill Development Ananth Kumar Hegde for his letter to not include his name in Tipu Jayanti celebration and said, as a part of the government, he should not have done it.

"As part of the government, he shouldn't have written it," Siddaramaiah said.

"It is being made into a political issue. There were four wars against British and Tipu fought them all," he added.

Siddaramaiah said the invitation will be sent out to all the central and state leaders and added that it is up to them to accept or not.

Earlier in the day, Hegde wrote a letter to Siddaramaiah's secretary and District Collector of Uttara Kannada district asking them not include his name in Tipu Jayanti celebration that will held on November 10.

After witnessing major clash in 2015 in state over the celebrations of Tipu Sultan Jayanti, the Karnataka Government last year decided to make the event an annual affair.

The Congress government views Tipu Sultan as a patriot, who fought against the British.