Tipu Sultan's descendant urges for legal action against Hegde for making derogatory remarks

Descendant of Tipu Sultan, Sahabzada Mansoor Ali Tipu, on Monday urged for a legal action against Union Minister of State for Skill Development Anant Kumar Hegde for his alleged "derogatory" comments against the 18th century Mysore ruler.

"I will meet Home Minister of Karnataka Ramalinga Reddy regarding what Anant Kumar Hegde said. I will urge for a legal action against him for calling our forefather a 'mass rapist' and 'brutal killer'," Mansoor Ali Tipu told ANI.

He added that as a Union Minister, Hegde should not have made such irresponsible comments against a ruler who is reverred as a hero in Karnataka.

"I seek an unconditional apology and necessary action against Hegde for his comments. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should sack him from the post of the Union Minister," Mansoor Ali Tipu asserted.

Earlier on Saturday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP, in a tweet, had conveyed to the Karnataka Government to not invite him to the "shameful" event of Tipu Sultan Jayanti on November 10.

"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 tweeted.

In 2016, Hegde had flayed the state government for celebrating Tipu Sultan 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 the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who termed the act of the Congress as "minority appeasement".

The Siddaramaiah-led Government is all set to celebrate the Tipu Sultan Jayanti despite widespread protests and violence that had marred celebrations in the last two years.