'Truth tampered with in textbooks, Tipu Sultan was a murderer', says BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje

As Karnataka government considers a proposal to remove Tipu Sultan's name from school textbooks, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday said he was not a "Sultan" but a "murderer".

"Tipu was not a Sultan. He was a murderer, traitor, anti-Hindu and anti-temple. That is why his name is being removed from textbooks. He killed several Hindus and destroyed many temples. That is why we are not celebrating Tipu Jayanti either. Truth has been tampered with in the textbooks," she told reporters.

Karandlaje also said that Tipu Sultan was a "fanatic Muslim" and "not a secular person".

"Our children should live in a secular state and should not have to read about his horrors," she added.

Earlier today, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Ashwath Narayan said that the government is "not curious about Tipu Sultan".

"Some western leaders are concerned about Tipu Sultan and are trying to make political gain out of it. We all know what Tipu did to our land. We have much more important issues to address," he said.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Jagadish Shettar has said that the BJP has been opposing Tipu Sultan Jayanti since the beginning.

"Government will make a decision on all these issues. However, we have been opposing Tipu Jayanti since the beginning because he was an anti-national and was against Hindu people. It is necessary to drop it from the curriculum," he added.

Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa had recently said that the state government is considering a proposal to remove Tipu Sultan's name from school textbooks.

The announcement had sparked a row over the matter with several opposition leaders and intellectuals criticising the state government saying they are diverting attention from more important factors like flood relief, etc.